The following was written by Kelly H, a graduate of the Convention of States Emerging Leader internship program! Applications are now open -- click here to apply.
My COS internship was the experience of a lifetime.
Let’s get everything straight: before the internship, I could never (and to be honest, I still never) imagine myself working in politics. Anyone who knows me even slightly never would have thought I would be applying to an internship like this. But despite my original doubts, COS had the perfect role for me, and the experience it gave me was something I will never forget.
The whole intern class had weekly calls, which were led by the two phenomenal coordinators who personify servant leadership and statesmanship (those terms will come up a lot in the internship). I was surrounded with other leaders and patriots who care deeply about their country and who taught me more than any regular class. We took a trip to Washington DC, in which we visited the Fox News studio and the Conservative Partnership Institute, among several other sites. And this is just the extra credit from the work I was doing from day to day.
I was pushed far beyond my comfort zone, and I didn’t even realize how much I was learning until I started seeing all the connections in my regular life. I know nearly every internship out there claims to “make people into leaders,” but I can really say that COS was the turning point for me. Since finishing my internship two months ago, I’ve taken on significant leadership roles in three non-profits and am working on several projects of my own. I’ve widened my range of possibilities much farther than I could have imagined for myself in September (I never would have even thought of writing this post back then). And I attribute these successes 100% to the experience I had at COS.
Applications are open now for the 2020-2021 Emerging Leaders internship!
