Obama Campaign is Offering Internships

The Obama Administration is taking an innovative approach to recruiting volunteers through their Fellowship Program. Anyone interested in applying for the 12-week internship program taking place this fall can apply online through the Obama Organizing Fellowship website until Aug. 17. Applicants should be prepared to write a few essays, have a resume ready and go through an interviewing process.

The Fellowship is a volunteer program which reaches out to many age groups ranging from student volunteers all the way to retired individuals.The main goal of the program is to reach out to local groups of people to organize events, inspire voters and get the word out to their community about the upcoming election. Senior, Eden McKissick- Hawley works as a fellow at the Prairie Village office. She manages more than a thousand volunteers in the community, organizing and recruiting people to get involved in the campaign.

“As a fellow for the program, we are basically the backbone in the structure of business in the neighborhood. Getting involved is as easy as working at a phone bank, or even getting a group of friends to drive up to Iowa,” Mckissick-Hawley said.

Interns will spread the messages of Obama’s campaign by recruiting new volunteers and voters through volunteering at phone-banks and voter registration drives held at local events. The program focuses on working with others, and coming together for the common goal. Applicants for the program must have a flexible schedule, and be able to work 15 or more hours a week, including weekends, nights or holidays.

“It’s a lot of time, and it’s a lot of work, but it’s the most empowered I have ever felt,” McKissick-Hawley said.

This program gives real world experience to students wanting to get involved in the campaign in their community. It is one of the only programs that allows students to get involved in non-chain states. Graduate Becca Brownlee has found her experience in the program has provided her with tools for the future.

“I’m thinking about going into political science in the future, so all the experience I gained from this internship will be important going towards that goal,” Brownlee said.