Simon Venell had a front row seat to history this past August.
And it was the Washington, D.C., summer study program at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University that helped make it possible.
The program is designed to provide students from all majors the opportunity to live and work in Washington while earning academic credit. Each student serves in a Congressional office, on a committee staff, in a government agency, in a nonprofit organization or with a public affairs group.
In Venell’s case, that meant working with Primacy Strategy Group, a government relations and public affairs firm with offices in Washington, D.C., the Twin Cities and Bismarck, North Dakota.
The senior at SJU worked in the D.C. office, doing background research, writing emails and helping on various projects. Then, about halfway through the summer, he found out he’d be going to the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 19-22, in Chicago
“My boss reached out and said the CEO of the company wanted to have a chat with me,” said Venell, a political science major. “It was myself and another intern, and he very generously offered to bring us to Chicago to help out.”
While there, Venell pitched in – working with the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) and Association of State Democratic Committees to set up various events.
“I got to play a lot of different roles, so that was really cool,” he recalls. “Sometimes I was helping get credentials for people who were coming to the various events or the actual convention. Sometimes I was greeting members of Congress and other government officials as they were coming into events.
“I can’t tell you how many people I’d only read about or followed who I got to meet up close – even just to say good morning or shake their hand.”
Of course, from a Minnesota standpoint, the proceedings took on added significance when Vice President Kamala Harris – the party’s presidential nominee – tapped Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
“That was exciting,” Venell said. “I got to be in the hall for both Gov. Walz and Vice President Harris’ speeches. Being there, and taking part in all that, just reaffirmed my love for government and politics and how our system works.”