The sophomore journalism and Middle Eastern Studies major is interning this semester for the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, an organization that advocates for the state’s 19 community colleges. The opportunity through the Capital City Internship Program allows her to interact with politicians, business leaders, and journalists, while earning political science credits and seeing firsthand the impact of budget-crafting and lawmaking.
“State government is so much more complex than people realize,” says Abdelaziz, whose responsibilities at the council include monitoring social media sites and maintaining the organization’s web page. “In terms of the budget, for example, the slightest decrease in funding can affect students in so many ways.”
Every Friday morning, the Toms River resident takes a train from New Brunswick to the council’s headquarters on West State Street, strategically located near the New Jersey Statehouse and the State Library.
“You’re in the midst of everything,” Abdelaziz says of the venue. “The second I get off the train I get the feeling that this is where change is happening, that everything that affects New Jersey is right there.”
The initiative, formally known as the Capital City Internship Program: Journalism, Government and Politics, sponsors lunchtime seminars with policy-shapers. In the past, speakers have included the governor, state legislators, journalists, campaign managers, lobbyists, urban planners, and Rutgers faculty members.
After the group briefings, the students head off to their assigned posts; in addition to the council, interns this year are based at all levels of states government and related agencies, as well as in various political campaigns.
Abdelaziz spends the afternoon writing newsletters, communicating with students at the council’s constituent schools, or culling through speeches by President Obama for references that will help the council press its case in the state Legislature. All the while, she’s also staying on top of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to keep her constituents up to date.
The internship has special resonance for this daughter of Egyptian immigrants, the first in her family to go to college.
Abdelaziz heard about the internship through Rutgers’ Educational Opportunity Fund program (EOF), which provides assistance for low income New Jersey residents. She says her parents came to the United States in the 1990s to assure a better future for her and her three younger siblings. “My parents always encouraged me to have an education, to soak in as much knowledge as possible,” she says.
Abdeliziz says the practical education she’s soaking in during her internship rounds out the book learning she’s exposed to in her classes. “The skills I’m getting – organizational skills, computer skills – will give me an advantage over other candidates when I look for a job,” she says.
Keith White, the Rutgers political science instructor who founded and oversees the Capital City Internships, is also the associate executive director for policy and research for the state Assembly Majority Office.
White, who received a master’s degree from the Eagleton Institute of Politics in 1993, launched the internship about a decade ago. He envisioned a program that would provide service to state government entities while offering students who were not necessarily political science or policy majors a behind-the-scenes look at decision-making.
Sophomore, juniors, and seniors on any of Rutgers’ campuses are eligible for the internships. More than 100 students have come through the program, some going on to serve in government positions after graduation. Among them is Kevin Nedza, who in 2009 received a bachelor of arts in history and political science, and who is serving as a research assistant with the state Assembly.
“Kevin and I now sit across from one another, staffing the same committee – the Assembly Higher Education Committee,” White says.
As for Abdelaziz, her future includes either graduate school or law school, but whichever she chooses, she knows she’d like to continue making a change in the world.
