Timothy Lo will never forget his 20-minute conversation about stem cell research with Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in the "senators-only" elevator in the Capitol Building. Karina Garcia will never forget meeting many women senators, seeing the role that they play and hearing them speak on important issues. And Lynna Quandt and Mavis Burks will forever remember getting a chance to help write national legislation and conduct research to inform public policy decision-makers.

Lo, Garcia, Quandt and Burks were among a group of Carnegie Mellon students who spent this past summer in Washington, D.C., interning at various public policy and public service organizations as recipients of The Milton and Cynthia Friedman and Tom Johnson fellowships.

The Milton and Cynthia Friedman Internships, available to students in all majors, were endowed in 1999 by Carnegie Mellon Trustee Cynthia Friedman in memory of her husband, Milton (E '47, '49). They aim to encourage and support participation of undergraduate and graduate students in policy-related internships in the nation's capital.

The Johnson Fellowships were established in 1997 for upperclassmen and graduate students in Engineering and Public Policy (EPP). The fellowships are named for the late Tom Johnson, a science and technology expert who was about to join the EPP faculty when he died of cancer in 1990 at the age of 46. Johnson was deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and executive director of the White House Science Council.

The Johnson fellows study and address important problems in public policy focusing on science and technology. Alexandra Carr, director of EPP's Washington, D.C. office at 1200 New York Avenue NW, helps match the students' interests with appropriate internships. She also helps them with logistics, such as finding appropriate housing, and organizes events for the students.

"The Tom Johnson Washington summer fellowship program has been a great success," said Granger Morgan, professor and head of EPP. "Advanced engineering undergraduates and graduate students have made important contributions working in federal agencies and with private policy groups all over Washington."

Friedman, who attended a program and reception on Nov. 12 in Roberts Engineering Hall where the students spoke about their internships, said she was happy to be able to give "the best and brightest students in so many fields" the opportunity "to see how things work in D.C."

"Since Sept. 11 we have a better understanding of the role government can play in our lives and we need to come together for these purposes," said Friedman, founder and former national chair of the Women's Leadership Forum.

"You're getting a terrific education, (but) what you do with it is up to you," she told the students. "You can have tremendous input into the Washington scene. You have every reason to be part of the decision making if you wish. Somebody's got to do it."

Lo, an ethics history and public policy major who is now enrolled in the Heinz School's Master of Public Policy and Management program, interned at Prison Fellowship Ministries as a Friedman Fellow. He worked for the organization's lobbyist by conducting research on the stem cell research bill, the cloning bill and on faith-based initiatives. He said he met several congressmen and senators during his days on Capitol Hill.

Garcia got her first taste of politics by interning at the Women's Leadership Forum. Friedman said she was told that Garcia was "by far" the best intern they had ever had.

Quandt, a Johnson Fellow majoring in electrical and computer engineering and engineering and public policy, interned at the Federal Communications Commission. She was a technical analyst and helped write legislation for a new Mulitpoint, Video and Data Distribution Service for television. The service employs ground-based, or terrestrial, antennas.

"Getting the chance to write an actual piece of legislation was an absolutely wonderful experience for me," Quandt said. "I was treated with the same respect as staff members."

Burks spent her Friedman Fellowship at Child Trends, a public service organization that focuses on issues relating to children, welfare and single mothers. A history major, she said her research background was a good fit for Child Trends.

"There was an intimacy and real sense of dedication in the place that inspired me," Burks said. "It's so important to realize that these policies (influenced by Child Trends) impact people on a daily basis. It was a great experience."

In his remarks at the program President Jared L. Cohon spoke about his strong personal belief in public service and about his experience as a legislative assistant on environmental issues to New York Senator Patrick Moynihan. Cohon, then an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University, worked with senators as a member of the Environmental and Public Works Committee. In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed him chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

"You can make a difference," Cohon told the students. "The nation needs the best and the brightest to face the challenges today. What you did is fantastic. We're very proud of you.

"You're just the type of student we hope for, people who care about the world and who want to work to make it better."

Vice Provost for Education Indira Nair, who helps coordinate the Friedman internships along with Carr and Stephanie Wallach, internship coordinator for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS), said it's important that students learn the meaning of public service.

"You can't believe how complex public service is," she said. "Students come away from these internships with a new-found respect for politicians."

In addition to recognizing last summer's Friedman and Johnson fellows, the Nov. 12 program honored many other students who held public service internships.

"H&SS, with support of the Dean's Office, has had an active internship program for undergraduates since 1996 centered in the History Department," Wallach said. "We have encouraged students to participate in internships locally as well as nationally and many have taken advantage of the program, working in a wide array of research, public policy and public service positions."

EPP upperclassmen interested in applying for a Johnson Fellow should contact Carr (acarr@andrew.cmu.edu) or Patti Steranchak (pc0x@andrew.cmu.edu). For more information about the Friedman Fellow and other public policy internships, students should contact Wallach at sw4s@andrew.cmu.edu.

Bruce Gerson
(12/05/01)