Elizabeth was an intern for Utah State Legislature during Winter 2024.
Briefly explain what you did and the result of your internship.
I served as a one-on-one intern for Representative Bennion during the 2024 legislative session. Representative Bennion had me do a wide variety of tasks, all of which taught me so much about how the legislature works in Utah.
What did you learn on your internship that you were not expecting to learn?
I learned so much more about lobbying and how legislators interact with their constituencies! I had no idea how much both of these groups influence policy, and it was cool to see the session in action.
How have your future plans changed because of what you learned from your internship experience?
I learned that I loved learning about state legislatures. Because of this and because of research I've completed with a professor, I've decided I want to go to graduate school to get a PhD in political science; I anticipate that my research interests will continue to be related to legislatures.
Please share how your experience led to personal inspiration or insightful revelation.
I learned so much about the Utah State Legislature and about how it works as I completed this internship. This helped me as I started working on research with a professor that used the Utah State Legislature as a test case.
Would you recommend this internship to other students?
Absolutely. You learn so much about the Utah State Legislature (and legislatures in general). Plus, it's a wonderful experience—you work one-on-one with a legislator, so you get such a hands-on experience you often wouldn't get if you interned somewhere else.
Is there anything else you would like to say regarding your internship?
It was a wonderful experience and I'm glad I did it.
