Alum finishes White House internship
Joerns spends 4 months in capial, works in public liason office
Laura Avila & Steven Veit
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Features
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"I began Aug. 27, 2007, the day Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned and left Dec. 19, the day the fire broke out on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building," he said. "My office was incredibly busy. I only had maybe two days that my schedule didn't change."
Joerns said his days were very busy, and at one time he worked from 6:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. the following morning. But, on most days he worked from 7:30 a.m. until the last staffer left, usually around 7 p.m. His responsibilities as an intern consisted mostly of office work like contacting people, managing e-mails and phone messages, and making schedules. "By the time I had left I felt like I had lived in Washington for years," said Joerns.
"There were meetings everyday with new people," he said. "I even spoke over the phone with [former Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger." During his stay at the U.S. capital, Joerns had the opportunity to attend events such as the departure of Karl Rove and Tony Snow, the visit of the NCAA championship teams, and the 9/11 attack remembrances. He said he also met former CBS anchor Dan Rather, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was present when Cardinal Daniel DiNardo visited the White House.
The Office of Public Liaison, located in the Executive Office Building, was an excellent environment to be at, Joerns said. "It has an amazing history and was built in the 1870s," he said. It was the principle office for 60 to 70 years. It was great to walk down the halls."
Joerns said while at the White House he, staffers and interns developed inside jokes about anecdotes happening to them. "It was funny to see our water cooler talk at the White House make it to CNN and the news later that night," he said.
Upon acceptance, Joerns left for Washington DC to move into a spare room of Father Giampetro's mother's house rather than the established intern housing programs. "It's a great, expensive city," he said. "I loved DC. It is interesting if you are interested in culture and politics."
Joerns said he applied for the internship program several months in advance prior to his acceptance and encourages students to apply. "It is an excellent window to get your foot in the door into government," he said. "About 40 percent of staffers were interns at some point."
Students interested in applying must visit www.careers.state.gov/student, be U.S. citizens and part or full-time students at an accredited university or college and be classified as a junior, senior or graduate student.
Joerns has been accepted into Tulane Medical School and University of Texas Medical School at Houston, but has not reached a final decision as to which he will attend.