Intern Profile: Mike Lipina

I interned at Putney Labour Party in London, England as an elective class for the political science major.  This was an astounding opportunity to explore what it was like to work with professional non-profit politicians from another country in a major political party that was currently in the majority. It was also a great opportunity for me to meet new people and develop a strong friendship with my coworkers and the people I helped along the way. 

My internship responsibilities included contacting other government officials from districts all over London, researching different electoral demographics within Putney and neighboring districts like Wadsworth, going door to door discussing with local residents some of the issues that they are currently having in the area, delivering pamphlets to people in the community in order to spread awareness of some of the current developments in the area, and internet journalism, which was new to me.   One of the most valuable things I learned through this program was effective ways to communicate over internet journalism. I had never done anything in the field of reporting or journalism so this really opened my eye to a different venue of Political Science that I did not realized I had so much passion for.

As a result of working for the Putney Labour Party, I gained experience on campaign management from two different spectrums. First, I learned campaign management on a strictly local level interacting with people in the community, and secondly on a broad level working with other elected officials with some of the problems they face in the greater London area.

I feel my internship has prepared me for my future. It has helped me grow as a professional in the political world, helped me grasp a better understanding of politics in a different country and the European Union, gave me insight to some of the problems facing major world cities like London, sparked my interest in journalism, and most importantly gave me friends through fellow co-workers. After I interned with the Putney Labour Party, I felt a sense of great accomplishment and new found desires. When I got back to the U.S., I quickly picked up another internship and I continue to do the same things I loved about my past internships.