The Full “D.C. Experience”
At two o'clock one morning last April, Chris Sanderson ’05, stood outside the Hart Senate Building, prepared for a long wait. The opportunity to witness history in the making was one reason he chose an internship in the nation’s capital—and he meant to take advantage of it. Later that day, he and his roommate, a University of Dayton student, would hear National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testify before the 9/11 Commission about the Bush administration’s handling of intelligence reports. With him in line were families of victims of the terrorist attack, carrying pictures of their relatives.

“Sitting inside that hearing was unbelievable,” says Chris, a politics major. “I wouldn’t have had that opportunity in New Hampshire.”

It wasn’t part of his job as an intern at the Office of the United States Attorney for Washington, D.C., but it was a memorable part of his D.C. experience. Washington internships not only give students three months of on-the-job experience in a potential career field; they afford a close look at daily life in the nation’s capital. Chris lived on the edge of Chinatown and worked at “Triple Nickel” (555 Fourth Street), a short walk from the National Mall. He took a class at George Mason University; tutored students at Maya Anjelou Charter School; and enjoyed nightclubs, museums, even a rare Washington snowstorm.

Chris’ internship is one of many offered through The Washington Center (TWC). Saint Anselm students work in senators’ offices, the White House, research and public policy firms, and nonprofits.

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