Winter Internship Opportunity

Dear Students:

In case you were unaware, the “great” state of New Hampshire, our neighbor to the north, holds the first in the nation presidential primary on February 4th, 2016. These campaigns are looking for young people to work unpaid in the time between just after Christmas and the beginning of classes. This is a fantastic opportunity given our close location to Nashua and the fact that most of you already possess clothing that can survive a New England winter. They will generally feed and house you, but you won’t be paid.

I don’t want to sugarcoat this: you will be a grunt. You will knock doors, make phone calls, set up events, make coffee, go on bagel runs, and talk at length with annoying people about meaningless things. You will do this for 12-15 hours a day. You will also make (if you go into politics as a career) some of the best connections of your life. People move up the ranks quickly in campaign politics; people who were interns 12 and 16 years ago are managing presidential campaigns now.  

You can get credit for this course in the intersession with me as a directed reading, which you can later use as a 400-level political science credit. 

Here’s what you’ll need to produce (if you want to enroll in the directed reading and get credit):

1. 100+ hours of work in service to the campaign. You’ll need your supervisor to sign a letter confirming this.
2. A five-page “reflection paper” on your experience. I will provide a detailed prompt for you.
3. You’ll need to keep a journal if possible during your experience.   

I already have reached out to several of the presidential campaigns and have materials from them. If you are interested, email me with your name, the candidate you would like to work for, and whether you want to enroll in the directed reading or not. I will do my best to facilitate these opportunities for you.

Thanks so much,

John

John Cluverius

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Research Fellow, Center for Public Opinion

University of Massachusetts Lowell

office: 978-934-5380

John_Cluverius@uml.edu