BY SOPHIA PINEDO-PADOCH

In print | January 19, 2006

The trip to the Center for American Progress, where a couple of Swatties held their externships over winter break, is heavy with patriotism indeed. Riding along in the bus, you can spot the Capitol building, its heavily columned top standing staidly in the distance. Right along H Street is a small, leafy park that opens up to Pennsylvania Avenue on the opposite side. At night warm lights from Pennsylvania Avenue glint through the trees, shining from the White House straight onto the passersby.

The externship program at Swarthmore was founded by a group of alumni over 30 years ago. The program has grown enormously since its beginning, and this year 185 Swarthmore students made their way out to the cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. during winter break to give different careers a try. Externships are “mini-internships”— one-week assignments to job-shadow Swarthmore alumni at workplaces of their preference. Workplace supervisors are all Swat alums, who design programs for their externs. In addition, Swat alum families in different cities may provide housing for students. The experience is supposed to give the still-exploring Swattie a better idea of what he or she wants to do. What would you do in the shoes of a journalist? A political scientist? A dentist? An externship attempts to help students answer those questions.

Over the last week of winter break Daniel Leigh ‘09 and Nate Allen ’08 made their way to the corner of H and 14th streets each weekday morning and went to work as externs at the Center for American Progress. Both conducted research, sat in on meetings and generally helped out at the liberal Washington think tank, which was founded by Bill Clinton’s chief of staff Jon Pedesta (whom they both met, they excitedly reported). Their week started off with a visit to the hearing of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, where the two listened to Senators give their opening statements.

“With all the coverage of the hearings, it was amazing to actually be there,” Daniel Leigh said. Being in close proximity to the people and the places that epitomized our nation’s capital sparked his excitement. “At the externship reception a lobbyist wrote her number on a napkin for me. Let me see if I can find it.” He fumbled around and successfully produced the crumpled object. He smiled, “Isn’t that great?”

Back at the office, Nate Allen researched the changing United States economy for his host, John Irons ‘92, Director of Tax and Budget Policy for the Center. In his workplace Nate seemed happy but tense, which he attributed to the TV in the room that constantly showed CNN. “I keep checking how the hearings are going,” he admitted. "That’s what my tension is tied to."

Last winter Allen, who is interested in political science and public policy, externed in Washington at the Survey Action Center, researching landmines. “I looked at academic journals, Lexis Nexis … it was different from what I am doing now,” he said. Nate reflected that both externships had given him “a better a idea of what I want to do. And how to get there.”

Downstairs from the Center for American Progress you could find even more Swatties, working at the Genocide Intervention Fund. Supervisor Sam Bell ‘05 was enthusiastic about their work. All of the D.C. supervisors seemed very content with their externs. Unlike Bell, who compared his role to that of “inmates running a prison,” Sam Berger ’05, Fellows Assistant at the Center for American Progress, took a low-key but generous approach to modeling his externship. “There are different parts to an externship. You learn about different issues, follow your supervisor around, and talk to people in the organization. You find out what people in a certain profession do—get a feel for it. Also,” he added, “you talk to Swatties.” Here Berger hit upon an important point: The externs get a chance to see the Swarthmore ideals put into practice. “Also,” he reflected, "it’s nice to talk to someone who knows what Sharples is."

Swat alums seemed universally happy to take care of their externs. Arriving back from winter break, Marc Engel ‘09, who externed for WHYY, a radio station in Philadelphia, recounted his experience. “I got to produce my own radio segment,” he said. "And I sat in on my supervisor’s interviews. I fumbled around with radio segments, fading them in and out." He became more serious for a moment and then continued. “My hosts, this old couple I stayed with, were very nice. The only problem was, the wife insisted that I drink decaf coffee.”

Engel shook his head, “I guess she took care of me too well.”

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