Payton Crotty has always had a passion for politics.
But the Annandale High School graduate, who will be a senior at Saint John’s University this fall, never expected to be working in the nation’s capital – much less in the halls of Congress.
Thanks to the Washington, D.C., summer study program at the College of Saint Benedict and SJU, though, he’s getting the chance to do just that.
“If I had to use one word to describe my experience, it would be surreal,” said Crotty, who is working as a legislative intern in the office of U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber. “Just being here is insane. If my younger self could see me now, he’d be thrilled.
“The first day I arrived, I put my bags in my room and walked out to the street to get some food. I turned and saw the capitol building right there. I got chills. My first day at the office, I stepped out on the balcony, and I could take in the whole National Mall. These are moments that are going to stick with me forever.”
Those are the exact moments the program – which is now in its 45th year – was set up to provide.
“It was (former political science professor) Bob Weber ’64 who first started it,” recalls Matt Lindstrom, a professor of political science at CSB and SJU and the program’s co-director. “He thought it was really important for our students to have the opportunity to work and live in the nation’s capital.
“Washington, D.C., is the center of the public policy world – whether it be foreign policy, financial policy, legal policy … all of it. There are so many different opportunities for students to get hands-on experience and make valuable contacts for whatever their career turns out to be.”
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.
Beyond the work experience, a faculty moderator conducts seminars and arranges for supplemental meetings with CSB and SJU graduates working in the area, as well as other professionals.
Many CSB and SJU alums currently work in the D.C. area, including some at the highest levels of government. Denis McDonough, a 1992 SJU graduate, is the secretary of veterans affairs. Collette S. Peters, a 1993 CSB graduate, is the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Patrick Stewart-Hester, a 2013 SJU graduate, is the chief of staff for the Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Just to name a few.
In addition, the co-presidents of the CSB and SJU Washington, D.C., Alumni Chapter – Jake Patrick Collins ’16 and Mackenzie Kuhl ’19 – are two of many students who have come through the summer study program and ended up pursuing careers in D.C.
“It’s been a huge pipeline,” said Claire Haeg, a professor of political science at CSB and SJU and the program’s other co-director. “Both for careers inside D.C. and out of it. We have a lot of students who’ve done the D.C. program and have gone on to careers in state government, or government-adjacent areas. It’s opened so many doors over the years.”
This summer’s cohort consists of 13 students who are working in the offices of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and several U.S. representatives, for the Federal Bureau of Housing and the Department of Commerce, for the Bahamian Delegation to the Organization of American States, and a number of other organizations.
Alexa DeLeon, a Chicago native and a junior-to-be at CSB, is working this summer as a policy and legislation intern for the League of United Latin American Citizens – the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization in the U.S.
As part of her job, DeLeon was able to travel to LULAC’s annual convention in Las Vegas where she worked as an on-deck stage manager.
“I’m a first-generation student and part of what brought me to CSB was this program,” DeLeon said. “I spoke with the chair of the political science department, Whitney Court, who told me about this opportunity. I’d like to go to law school after graduation and hopefully work in immigration law. The experience I’m getting this summer will be so valuable for that.
“I’ve been able to come in contact with so many notable people,” she continued. “U.S. senators, the Nevada attorney general, White House appointees. These are contacts I never would have made anywhere else.”
Here is the full list of this summer’s D.C. study program cohort:
· Kameron Banner, political science (Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute)
· Jordyn Brownlee, accounting and finance (Federal Bureau of Housing)
· Alvaro Caballero, political science (Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute)
· Payton Crotty, political science (U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber)
· Alexa DeLeon, political science (League of United Latin American Citizens)
· Finnegan Dolezal, economics (Department of Commerce)
· Andrew Erkenbrack, political science (Okinawa Prefecture D.C. Office)
· Rachel Erben, political science (U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola)
· Lucy Farley, political science and nutrition (Better Medicine Alliance)
· Christian Henkels, political science (U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar)
· Cormac O’Connor, political science and computer science (U.S. Sen. Patty Murray)
· Simon Venell, political science (Primacy Strategy Group)
· Ilan White, political science (Bahamian Delegation to the Organization of American States)
Making a gift
To support the Washington, D.C., Summer Study Program, please visit the SJU or CSB giving pages. Under “fund,” select “other,” then indicate “D.C. Summer Study Program” in the “Other Designation Preference” field. All gifts made this way will go toward funding the program.