CSS graduate Chelsea Cobb received a full-time, paid internship in the office of Hawaiʻi U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono in the spring 2016 semester. She now works in the Washington, D.C., office of Hawaiʻi U.S. Senator Brian Schatz as a legislative correspondent.
“It’s a crazy, awesome opportunity for Hawaiʻi kids to get to do this,” said Cobb, who graduated from UH Mānoa in 2016 after graduating from Island Pacific Academy in 2012. She credits the Mānoa Political Internships program for her position at Schatz’s office.
The internships offer a rare opportunity to gain experience in the inner workings of state and federal government and contribute.
“The target students are often thought of as political science students but, in fact, we have students from all over the social sciences, family studies in CTAHR, history, philosophy, English, social work and occasionally biology,” said Lawrence Nitz, director of the Mānoa Political Internships program. “There is no discipline at Mānoa that is not affected by both federal and state legislation.”
Cobb says her time in Senator Hirono’s office was invaluable.
“I had a really positive experience and I learned a lot about the legislative process in general.” said Cobb. “I learned how complex the issues are here in Hawaiʻi and throughout the country. I learned that one person can really improve the lives of people.”
