Hi, everyone! My name’s Brendan Kehoe (he/him), and I’m a rising sophomore in Forbes College. I’m studying Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and hope to pursue a certificate in Linguistics. On campus, I’m a member of Princeton Model Congress and Princeton Political Review, and I will be an OA leader later this summer. Outside of school, I enjoy taking hikes with my dog and baking (especially muffins).
This summer, I interned virtually at the Washington, D.C. Office of U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal for eight weeks through the Princeton Internships in Civic Service program. Senator Blumenthal represents my home state of Connecticut, and it was a great honor to work in the office of such a distinguished and caring Senator, as well as serve my fellow Connecticut residents. It was certainly a rewarding experience, and it helped me consider how to best help and serve others.
During this internship, I began the day by meeting with my internship coordinators and my fellow interns to discuss the objectives for the day, and have the chance to ask any questions. After that, I began the main task of each day, which was sorting through constituent messages to ensure that they reached the correct staff members, allowing constituent issues, concerns, and ideas to be addressed. This helped me learn more about the biggest current issues while also working to ensure Connecticut residents have a voice in Congress. I also attended congressional briefings or hearings and wrote memos detailing the contents of the briefing or hearing, how the issues discussed were relevant to Connecticut, and possible steps the Senator could take to address these issues. I also had the chance to write a policy memo about reducing methane emissions.
Over the course of this internship, I also learned more about how a congressional office works by interacting with staff members in a variety of positions, from constituent correspondence to policy analysts to press correspondence. This gave me an important glimpse into how members of Congress such as Senator Blumenthal use the resources at their disposal to make their home states/districts a better place.
Overall, this internship was a meaningful and engaging experience, and it was wonderful to spend my summer serving the people of Connecticut!
