USD Political Science Students Interning Regionally in DC and Abroad in 2018
"We have lots of students who are doing consequential things in 2018. They have secured internships all throughout the U.S. and the world. Whether it is working with state or local governments, Congressional offices, law firms, political campaigns, government agencies, lobbying firms, nonprofits, political parties, or some other type of organization, our students are pushing themselves to strengthen their education by bridging their classroom experiences with the ‘real world.’ We have found that internships are very meaningful in terms of helping students decide what they want to do after graduation and developing skills that make them nationally competitive for jobs and admission to graduate and professional schools," said Prof. Eric M. Jepsen, professor of political science and the internship director for political science majors.
USD’s Farber Fund provides financial support for all eligible undergraduates who major in political science and secure an internship. The Department of Political Science at USD is distinguished by close faculty mentoring, a challenging program of study, and financial support for high‐impact engagement activities like internships, study abroad, and student research.
The student interns, their hometowns, and where they’re interning:
SPRING 2018
Sam Alvine (Sioux Falls, SD) House Republicans at SD Legislature, Pierre
Stone Conley (Sioux City, IA) )Senator Charles Grassley, Sioux City)
Katie Demaray (Harrisburg, SD) Disability Rights South Dakota, Sioux Falls
Catherine Dougherty (Sioux Falls, SD) SD Legislature lobbyist with Tieszen Law Firm, Pierre
P.J. Freidel (Rapid City, SD) Senate Republicans at SD Legislature, Pierre
Amber Hulse (Hot Springs, SD) SD Secretary of State Shantel Kreb's office, Pierre
Abby Kolar (Vermillion, SD) House Republicans at SD Legislature, Pierre
Rose McLaughlin (Cedar Rapids, IA) U.S. State Department, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Mary Merxbauer (Aberdeen, SD) Senate Republicans at SD Legislature, Pierre
Jacob Selgestad (Yankton, SD) House Democrats at SD Legislature, Pierre
Chris Skunk (Lower Brule, SD) House Republicans at SD Legislature, Pierre
Cohl Turnquist (Winner, SD) Marty Jackley for Governor campaign, Sioux Falls)
Tyler Wenande (Yankton, SD) Senate Democrats at SD Legislature, Pierre
SUMMER 2018
Anna Andrews (Sioux Falls, SD) TUSA Ambassador, Taipai, Taiwan
Rodrigo Balmaceda (Sioux Falls, SD) Children’s Home Society, Sioux Falls
Hannah Booth (Pierre, SD) Division of Criminal Investigations, State of South Dakota, Pierre
Maria Brady (Papillion, NE) MATTER NGO, Minneapolis, MN
P.J. Freidel (Rapid City, SD) Rapid City Economic Development Partnership, Rapid City
Emily Herbert (Sioux Falls, SD) SD State Penitentiary, Sioux Falls
Krista Honomichl (Volga, SD) South Dakota Democratic Party, Sioux Falls
Amber Hulse (Hot Springs, SD) Delegate Jason Miyares, Virginia Legislature, Charlottesville, VA
Belma Husakovic (Sioux Falls, SD) LSS Center for New Americans, Sioux Falls
Shukri Jama (South Sioux City, NE) Democratic Party of Iowa, Sioux City
Phil Ladouceur (San Diego, CA) Evaluation & Data Visualization Intern at Sage Project Consulting, Vermillion
Maria Lewis (Hartford, SD) U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, Washington D.C.
Aaron Licht (Parker, SD) SD State Penitentiary, Sioux Falls
Martin Long (Lyons, NE) Nebraska Appleseed and Global Partners in Hope, Omaha
Sam Matson (Sioux Falls, SD) Heidepriem, Purtell, Siegel Olivier Law Firm, Sioux Falls
Teagan McNary (Vermillion, SD) Randy Seiler for Attorney General, Pierre
Rachel Newville (Perham, MN) Imagine Missions, Haiti
Ross Oyler (Rapid City, SD) Billie Sutton for Governor, Rapid City
Kaleb Peterson (Beresford, SD) Tim Bjorkman for U.S. Congress, Sioux Falls
Mitch Rave (Baltic, SD) Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Sioux Falls
Brett Ries (Watertown, SD) Brett Ries for SD House of Representatives Campaign
Jacob Selgestad (Yankton, SD) Ramsey County Health & Wellness Service Team, St. Paul, MN
Christian Skunk (Lower Brule, SD) Kristi Noem for Governor, Sioux Falls
Jordan Smith (Rapid City, SD) South Dakota Democratic Party, Rapid City
Madeline Smith (Sioux Falls, SD) O’Kelley & Sorohan Law Firm, Alpharetta, GA
Josh Sorbe (Brookings, SD) U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, Washington D.C.
Kristen Spaans (Hudson, SD) U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, Sioux Falls
Kelli Susemihl (Merrill, IA) Serve Seattle Mission, Seattle, WA
Sidney Thies (Sioux Falls, SD) Woods Fuller Shultz & Smith P.C. Law Firm, Sioux Falls
Tyler Wenande (Yankton, SD) Association for Accessible Medicines, Washington D.C.
Matthew Yetter (Philadelphia, PA) U.S. Civil Rights Commission, DC/South Dakota
Carson Zubke (Waubay, SD) U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Washington D.C.