Brittany Porro ’13

Major(s): International Studies, Italian Studies
Internship Site: European American Business Council - Washington, DC

The Internship:   
I found my internship through dcinternships.org. I completed a program through The Funds for American Studies. I attended two classes at Georgetown, while interning Monday through Thursday.

The main part of my internship consisted of going to events and writing summary papers on them. I also helped the Policy Manager write policy papers that we sent out to our member companies. I really enjoyed researching and writing policy papers. It was interesting to see how they formatted them in a business environment..

The Challenges:   
I found the economic side of my internship to be very challenging. I have always struggled with economics and it was hard for me to follow some of the events that I went to. I tried to overcome my challenge by researching more about the different topics, and asking my coworkers for a clearer explanation. Once I was able to get a solid framework, I found that I did not struggle with understanding the different topics. I learned that just because I don’t understand something doesn’t mean I never will. I just have to do the extra work.

The Preparation:   
I found that my EU class and my Global Economy class helped me a lot with this internship. From the policy side, they were very impressed with my knowledge about the EU and frequently asked me clarifying questions on it.  Global Economy helped me with the economic aspect of my internship. I was able to use theories applied in my class to the lectures I attended.

The Future:  
I have learned that I am really interested in going into the Policy field. I want to work for the CIA in the Directorate of Intelligence. I discovered that I love analyzing policies and learning about the interactions between the United States and the World. After this internship I have also learned that I do not want to go into the business sector. I am not very interested in economics, and a lot of the topics do not intrigue me.

Tips from Brittany: 
It is really important to set goals and areas of interest prior to looking for your internship. It will make narrowing down a field of interest a lot easier, and it will make your actual internship more beneficial for you. Also use Dickinson Connect and other resources from Dickinson.  They are very helpful when looking for an internship.


*To find out more about how to get an internship, make an appointment with a career counselor. Just call the Career Center at 717-245-1740 or stop by Biddle House.