Samantha Boram

Public Relations and Strategic Communication

Office of Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (IN-05)

What was the most exciting thing about your role?

The most exciting aspect of my role was getting to spend time with the Congresswoman. I had the chance to attend several meetings and connect events with her throughout the summer, and it was always inspiring to witness her interactions with constituents and positive attitude. Additionally, these events often provided networking opportunities and took us behind-the-scenes of many different industries.

Describe your typical day as an intern.

Each day, I reported to one of the district offices and read several newspapers from the district. I took the information that I found to be newsworthy and compiled those stories into a report for the Congresswoman. After I completed that task, I worked on projects within the office’s constituent database. Depending on the workload for the other staff members, sometimes I assisted in writing congratulatory letters from the office. Additionally, each day I was responsible for answering the phones when constituents would call to voice their opinions in regards to current events or legislation. A few times each week, I traveled with staff members to luncheons, constituent meetings, tours, and other events to represent the office of the Congresswoman.

How did you apply your Liberal Arts-skills to your internship position?

I worked on various kinds of projects in my internship position. I found that each one required advanced critical thinking and communication skills.

How has your internship prepared you for your career?

This internship experience really developed my soft skills and ability to network and interact with professionals. These skills are a must for any work environment, and are difficult to learn in traditional educational settings. Each day, I was challenged to think critically about the world beyond myself, any specific industry, or set of ideas.