Beyond KU: D.C. Internships

Are you a current KU student considering a DC internship? Join us as we interview a panel of four former KU students and Student Advisory Board members as they talk about their internships in D.C. and how these experiences moved their careers forward.
The program is presented in partnership with the KU Career Center
Eric Kros graduated from the University of Kansas in 2020 with a double major in Political Science and Public Administration as well as a minor in Business. During his time at KU, he worked at the Dole Institute of Politics as a Development Intern and Discussion Group Student Coordinator. In 2017, Eric interned for Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) in her Omaha district office. The next two summers, he interned for Urban Swirski and Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm focused on tax and trade issues. Eric then spent early 2020 as a Legislative Intern for Braden, Heidner, Lowe and Associates, a Topeka-based lobbying firm. In May of 2020, Eric started his career as an intern at a multi-client lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill Consulting Group (CHCG). He was then hired as a Legislative Assistant and eventually promoted to Legislative Director. At CHCG, Eric primarily works in the Tribal, association, energy, municipal, and agriculture space.
Raina Peter is a senior at the University of Kansas studying Economics and Political Science. She is an outreach coordinator at the Dole Institute of Politics and has had two internships in Washington DC. In Summer 2022, she interned at the Department of State in the Office of Investment Affairs. In Summer 2023, she interned on Capitol Hill for Representative Sharice Davids. While she doesn't have confirmed plans post-graduation, she hopes to return to DC in the political space whether that is for the government, think tank, or research-based firm.
Amanda Petersen works to improve opportunities for young Kansans to thrive as the Director of Early Childhood at the Kansas State Department of Education. She graduated from the University of Kansas with bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science in 2015 and earned a master’s degree in public administration in 2018. Her D.C. internship supporting state advocacy organizations, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, led to a subsequent semester as an intern in the Kansas Legislature and to her first jobs in state-level policy advocacy at Kansas Action for Children.
Mandy Snodgrass grew up on a small farm in northeast Kansas and graduated from KU. She has worked in a variety of political and nonprofit positions since high school, including on federal and state campaigns, in the Kansas statehouse, and now in Washington D.C. Currently, Mandy lives in Washington D.C. and works for Heritage Action, the political partner organization of The Heritage Foundation as a Manager of Donor Communications. While at KU, she interned on Capitol Hill for a former Kansas representative and also for the National Down Syndrome Society, also in Washington DC.
Submit your questions to [e-mail] for the question-and-answer portion of the program.
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The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics is dedicated to promoting political and civic participation as well as civil discourse in a bipartisan, philosophically balanced manner. It is located on KU’s West Campus and houses the Dole Archive and Special Collections. Through its robust public programming, congressional archive, and museum, the Dole Institute strives to celebrate public service and the legacies of US Senators Bob Dole and Elizabeth Dole.