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From Capitol Hill to a Capitol Case

It is insane to think that a year ago I was living in Pentagon City and soaking up everything I could in Washington, D.C., and it’s quite the bittersweet experience every time the pictures from then come up in my memories. Of all my time at the College, I can truly say that the D.C. Semester was the most memorable, influential, and amazing experience and I am endlessly grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of it. Now in my last semester on the Hill as I think about my future plans, I can’t help but reflect on all of the things that I learned during the D.C. program and how impactful it was for me both then and now. 

I knew that I wanted to take part in the Washington D.C. program from the moment that I learned about it. I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was 10 and I figured that living and working in the rich professional cosmos of D.C. would be an amazing opportunity to gain insight into this career path. I was right, but I also learned so much more than that. After deciding to apply to go a semester earlier than I had originally planned, I was honestly a little nervous to find that law internships had closed when it came time to choose where to work but I was assured that I would still be able to find connections and learn about it even if it was not the focus of my internship. So after looking at all of my options, I chose to spend the semester as an intern at the TSA Headquarters in Springfield, VA and it was the best decision that I made. I worked with and learned from an amazing team in the Security Operations Office who also made it a point to ensure that I learned about law operations at the headquarters. They connected me to the Office of the Chief Counsel where I was able to learn from Francine Kerner not only about legal operations at TSA but also about applying to law school and pursuing a career in law. Outside of my internship, I was also able to gain insight from a visit to the United States District Court in D.C. as well as from an experienced lawyer who served as a guest speaker for my public policy seminar. It was through these that my love and passion for law was further solidified and I left D.C. knowing that I wanted to work as a law intern that summer.

Moving forward into the summer, it was hard to find a law internship in my area as most required enrollment in law school. But just as I was starting to get a bit discouraged, I connected with a well known criminal defense lawyer from a town over. He was excited to hear about my time in D.C. and just grateful for help in the office but I was ecstatic for the opportunity as criminal law is a big passion of mine. During my time I was able to review cases and attend court hearings at various levels all while being mentored by a successful lawyer I could look up to. After working with him for a while he asked me for help on a big case that he was working on as it was a long trial with a multitude of evidence to work through. Little did I know, I would get to spend a good part of my summer working on a January 6th Capitol insurrection case. A big D.C. case file? I was absolutely elated. While it was definitely a difficult and tedious process at times, I am so grateful that I got to work on it because it gave me a chance to gain deeper insight into the process of working through all of the different parts of a criminal case file and the steps taken throughout the trial process. It was especially then that I was able to implement the various lessons I had learned and skills I had acquired during the D.C. program and I truly feel that having had this experience made me a better intern. 

So – moving forward I will continue to miss the bustling streets of D.C., the crisp air of Capitol Hill, even the metro; but I will never forget the memories I made and all of the things I learned during the most impactful and amazing semester of my life.

Tiffany Bohorquez '23 - Center Ambassador
Tiffany Bohorquez ’23 – Center Ambassador
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Washington, D.C. Semester Program Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Picture of U.S. Capitol

This spring, the Washington Semester Program will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. To celebrate, Holy Cross will be hosting two events to commemorate the tremendous success of the program and its contributors from over the years. The first event will take place on April 12th in Washington, DC. Former Director of Speechwriting for Barack Obama and Holy Cross and Washington Semester alumni, Jon Favreau, will be giving the keynote speech. John Connelly, President of the National Fisheries Institute, will also be speaking about the NFI’s long relationship with Holy Cross students as the program hopes to continue building relationships with alumni and their agencies. A second event will take place on May 6th at Holy Cross for program alumni, faculty advisors and other contributors from around New England to celebrate. A panel of alumni will speak on their experiences with the program and contributions it made to their personal and professional lives. Additionally, the panel will feature experienced faculty advisors, highlighting the importance of the thesis component of the program. Finally, this event will celebrate the next recipient of the Vannicelli Washington Semester Away Program Award, recognizing the most outstanding thesis from each semester. The recipient will have the opportunity to share their findings and their presentation will spotlight the research component of the program. Both events will end with a reception and opportunity for people to mix and mingle. 

The highly selective Washington Semester Program provides students opportunities for intellectual, personal, and professional growth. Fifty years ago, Professor David O’Brien was approached by a student interested in doing a directed study program in politics or public policy. Professor O’Brien coordinated with the student and his roommate to live in Washington, D.C. for a semester and intern for Representative Michael Harrington of Massachusetts. As time went on, interest continued to rise and within a few years the program was sending about five students to D.C. each semester. Current director Gary DeAngelis was hired thirty-four years ago to lead the then called Office of Special and Office of Experimental Studies. He organized marketing campaigns and altered the program’s structures and requirements to encourage more students to apply. The Washington Semester Program was eventually incorporated into the J.D. Power Center, dedicated to providing Holy Cross students with opportunities to explore experiential learning. Although it has evolved with time, the program’s emphasis on the seminar, theses, and internship as a way of providing a holistic experience has remained the same. 

Throughout its history, the Washington Semester Program has continued to expand its rigorous standards and opportunities for students. Over the past few decades, the thesis and research components of the program have become more formalized, resembling its structure today. Holy Cross students work with a thesis advisor throughout the semester, helping the student develop their ideas and conduct their research. The growing rigor of the program has made it increasingly more competitive, attracting some of Holy Cross’ most outstanding and dedicated students. A final aspect of the program that has grown greatly over the years is the relationship between the program and various agencies in the Washington, D.C. area. The work done by Holy Cross students at their internship sites leaves a lasting impression on their supervisors and agencies. Each new class of students receives access to an extensive network of alumni and partners that are accessible and excited to work with them on sharing experiences and securing an internship. Throughout the program’s history, program participants have created a legacy that encourages numerous agencies to reach out to pursue Holy Cross students each year. Professor DeAngelis also travels each semester to Washington, D.C. to meet with students and their internship supervisors. Agencies see the commitment of Holy Cross to the Washington Semester Program but this also ensures that students are receiving a good experience and performing substantive work.

Today, the Washington Semester Program has over one thousand Holy Cross alumni and continues to evolve and grow. A distinctive strength of the Washington Semester Program is that it is interdisciplinary, drawing students from all majors and academic backgrounds. During the semester, the students take a seminar in public policy, taught by a long list of dedicated professors and currently by Professor Chris Murray. Because each student has a unique academic background the seminar calls on each person to expand on their perspectives and experiences at their internship, living out public policy in real time. As the three core components of the program, the seminar, thesis and internship have continued to evolve and integrate together, the program also now offers an exciting lineup of guests and speakers each semester. Students are exposed to a variety of experiences and professions while having the opportunity to network, ask questions, and discuss pressing issues with the speakers. 

From its humble origins, the Washington Semester Program has achieved great success and features an impressive list of alumni. The program’s competitiveness and rigor has been mirrored by its participants, shining at their respective agencies and producing high quality research relating to their experiences in Washington, D.C. The prosperity of the program has continuously been supported by the commitment of alumni, thesis advisors, and agency partners and their contributions to the Washington Semester Program will be celebrated this spring. 

Applications for next academic year’s Washington Semester Program (Fall 2022 and Spring 2023) will open on Friday, February 11th and close on Monday, February 21st. All interested students are encouraged to apply and to reach out to Professor DeAngelis and the J.D. Power Center with any questions!

Keegan Earnest ’22 – J.D. Power Center Ambassador
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Spotlight: Policy and Politics in America (AIP Seminar)

The Academic Internship Program that’s supported by the J.D. Power Center consistently offers enriching opportunities to synthesize both academics and real world experiences through its seminars that are exceedingly interesting and relevant to world affairs. One of these seminars, Policy and Politics in America, taught by former congressman Tim Bishop ‘72 and longtime political consultant Peter Flaherty ‘87, is an impressive academic course centered on student engagement with the real world of politics. The winter 2019 issue of the Holy Cross Magazine reported that through the mission of fostering opportunities for experiential learning in mind, the J.D. Power Center supported the creation of this course to cover experiences in and around politics. Two educators were then selected so that the course did not have a partisan bias. This course intends to provide students with comprehensive understandings of important House and Senate races in midterm elections, particularly the 2022 midterm elections, in tandem with the following result’s consequences on policy debates. One of the goals that this seminar has is to transcend partisanship and engage in more productive political conversations. Guided by well qualified instructors and frequent guest speakers, students participate in high level discussions and develop deeper comprehension of the political system in the United States and of the various career opportunities that grow alongside government ones such as grassroots organizing, voter outreach, and campaigning.

The co-teachers, Mr. Bishop and Mr. Flaherty, both also exemplify how purple runs deep, and that the Holy Cross community is full of support networks and exciting connections. Bishop graduated from Holy Cross in 1972, followed by his brother Chris ‘74, and he has remained in contact with a fair number of his classmates, including Fr. Hayes of the Chaplains’ Office. Flaherty graduated from Holy Cross in 1987. His brother, Chip, graduated in 1986, his son, Peter Flaherty III graduated in 2021, and two nieces are alumnae and one is a current student. Even though 15 years and differing political orientations may seem to separate these two alumni, they really do practice what they preach. Coming from different backgrounds has not been a barrier between a joyful friendship built on mutual admiration. Teaching a seminar, engaging students, and inspiring up and coming political leaders, has further forged their bond, and this is reflected in the strength of their course.

Bishop’s favorite part of teaching the seminar is interacting throughout the years with “uniformly impressive” students. He says that they are consistently, “bright, engaged, committed, interested in playing their part to make the world a better place, and also committed to the central ethos of HC-education for others.” Flaherty echoes this sentiment as he says, “The prism through which the Holy Cross students see the political landscape is rooted in an admirable and refreshing selflessness with an eye toward contributing to solutions, rather than focusing on divisive rhetoric.” This praise of students is hopeful for the future of our country considering both he and Peter Flaherty have supported a fair amount of students in getting jobs in politics, government, political consulting, and more. Notably, with Flaherty’s help, a class of 2019 graduate, Carter Mitchell, obtained a position with a political consulting firm. Mitchell will also be a guest lecturer for the class on October 26. Students who have taken this course also have held a various array of internships that adds interactions with colleagues and coworkers to the academic experience. Some of the internships that students in the course hold this semester are with the Federalist Society, Worcester Court Service Center, Framingham Centre Common Cultural District, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Worcester District Attorney’s Office, Gray Panthers NYC Network, City of Worcester Elections Committee, Coresight Research. There are often students in gubernatorial and congressional internships and respective campaigns as well.

To expand upon to the course’s relevancy to current political conversations, the co-teachers consistently bring in highly qualified guest speakers. Some of the names on the expansive list include:

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Governor Walz of Minnesota, Governor Inslee of Washington, Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Representative Linda Sanchez of California and Representative Adam Schiff of California, former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, Former White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and former Governor of New Hampshire John Sununu, Former U.S. Senator and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown, Former Whitehouse Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Barack Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe, President Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jamie Harrison, Pollster for President Trump James McLaughlin, and pollster for Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg Jef Pollock, one of President Trump’s lead attorneys Jay Sekulow, political consultant John Lapp, Dana Bash, John Berman, Chris Cuomo and Kasie Hunt of CNN, Phil Rucker and Ashley Parker of the Washington Post, and more.

Students in Policy and Politics in America have the priceless opportunity to hear from high powered figures with diverse voices and opinions. The guest speakers hail from almost every aspect of politics, from elected officials, big names in media news, and everything in between. Every speaker brings important insight to the class that helps further mutual understandings of politics and the reality of the political sphere. Bishop says that, “listening to both Jim Clyburn and Jamie Harrison speak about growing up Black in rural South Carolina and then rising to the heights they have achieved was both powerful and inspiring, and hearing a no nonsense guy like Governor Sununu talk about his focus on results as opposed to politics was a real lesson in what is missing in our current political discourse.”

The mission of this course was reiterated by October 19th’s guest speaker, Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey, who said that there’s a current desire from the nation for more humble and grounded politics. That’s exactly what Bishop and Flaherty aim to teach and instill in Policy and Politics in America, and they are having excellent success with it.

Holy Cross Magazine: https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2019/01/07/two-alumni-political-world-veterans-teach-course-examining-politics-from-inside-out/

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Anne Comcowich '22 - J.D. Power Center Ambassador
Anne Comcowich ’22 – J.D. Power Center Ambassador
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Fall Opportunities at the J.D. Power Center: AIP and NY Semester News

Dear Students,

As you read in Provost Freije’s email, the J.D. Power Center is offering distinctive opportunities for experiential learning this fall. Whether you plan to return to Holy Cross or to remain at home, we are confident that we can provide experiential learning opportunities for you wherever you are. Here’s what’s new, and what’s coming.
 
AIP is Growing
Fall 2020 might be the best time yet to enroll in the Academic Internship Program because you can intern anywhere in the world. This means you can find a site that works for you–or continue work that you’ve already been doing in your community. We’ve been working all summer with the Center for Career Development to gather contacts with sites offering remote internships, so we’re confident we can help you find an internship that works for you. And if you can’t, you can complete a capstone project instead. 
 
Also: for this semester only, we’re inviting sophomores to apply to AIP! 
 
Available seminars include:
  • Social Justice and the Law (Explore the legal aspects of important social justice issues, such as immigration policy, policing, and sexual assault. Great for students interested in the law, students interested in social justice issues, students engaged in activist work in the community, students interested in public policy.)
  • Health Care Management (This course digs into some of the macro issues around the US health infrastructure. Great for students interested in the health professions, management, public health, economics, or the politics of health care.)
  • Professional Ethics (This course examines practical ethical questions that arise in a number of work settings. Great for pre-business students, philosophy students, religious studies students.)
  • Presidential Campaigns (Driven by the events of the presidential campaign, this course gives students insight into the strategies and tactics of national campaigns. Great for political science students, students engaged in activist work in the community, students interested in media and communications, political junkies of all stripes). 
  • Non-profits and Government Agencies (Learn about how non-profit organizations provide essential services to the community, and how government agencies translate public demands into public goods. Great for pre-business students, students who love CBL, students engaged in activist work, students interested in management, political science majors