Four Seniors Win Awards to Intern in Fields of Public Policy, Service, Government and Politics

June 1, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas — Four University of Texas at Austin seniors will intern at the ACLU, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR), the Hispanic College Fund and Georgetown Law School this summer after winning Theodore Strauss Civic Internship Awards from the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation.

Lauren Conner, a history major from Dallas, will work with the ACLU Legal Department's Undergraduate Internship Program in New York City. Thomas Divine, a Plan II honors/history major from Houston, will work with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR). Cecilia Lopez, a government major from Alexandria, Va., will work as a government relations fellow with the Hispanic College Fund in Washington, D.C., and Rachel Y. Wade, a government and history major from Dallas, will work in the Investigative Internship Program at Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C.

The Theodore Strauss Civic Internship Award provides a $2,000 stipend for undergraduate students who will be serving as paid or unpaid summer interns in the fields of public policy, public service, government or politics. Previous award winners have interned for CNN, the U.S. Department of Education, the United States Senate, Defenders of Wildlife and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, among other nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies.

The students will compose a summary of their experiences to be published online and in the Annette Strauss Institute newsletter.

For more information, contact: Erin Geisler, College of Communication, 512 475 8071; Deborah Wise, 512-471-7210, or Chuck Courtney, 512-471-7208.