New Paradigm Strategy Group, Washington, DC
This summer I had the pleasure of interning with New Paradigm Strategy Group, a progressive public affairs agency located just blocks from the White House in the heart of the nation’s capital. As a communications intern, I was immersed in the world of issue advocacy and experienced first-hand the power of political communications. From my first day to my very last, I was given incredible opportunities to demonstrate my research and writing abilities in a variety of manners. Additionally, I was able to meet prominent politicians such as Congressman Joe Kennedy and Senator Amy Klobuchar, and work daily with renowned political advisor Tom McMahon, the brilliant Cara Morris-Stern, David Boundy of the AFL-CIO, Michelle Ringuette of AFT, and the Parkland student leaders of March for Our Lives. My experience would not have been possible without the generosity of Williams alumni and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration, and I am so grateful for their support.
Each day at New Paradigm was unique and there was always a new press release to write or Presidential tweet to refute, but the mornings always began with a cup of coffee and my morning NAFTA clips. Each day I identified media opportunities for clients by monitoring, collecting, and distributing daily press clips, which involved a bit of research, prioritization, and fast typing. Each full-time employee, omitting the partners, had their own sets of clips, and the office was usually filled with the frantic sounds of computer keys until the 10:00 a.m. staff meetings had come and gone. Being entrusted with the daily NAFTA clips was a huge honor and allowed me to learn more about international trade than I could have ever anticipated.
A lot of my time at New Paradigm was spent on special research projects curating pitch lists, pitching for press events, and drafting op-ed’s, letters to editors, media bios, social media, election memos, and press releases. These special projects were often for Freedom From Facebook, an anti-trust initiative with which Lina Khan ’10 is involved with. Projects for this coalition were usually a bit unusual and included a bit of John Lewis-esque “good trouble.” My colleagues and I were removed from a House Judiciary Committee hearing for a silent protest against Facebook’s data leaks, and were met with opposition when we canvassed for the coalition within a Facebook event earlier in the summer. My work with Freedom From Facebook allowed me to learn about issue advocacy in a new way, and granted me the opportunity to connect with influential media executives and Senators that support a free press.
Throughout the summer, I also kept very busy with work to help plan a student gun violence summit that will take place in DC this fall. Parkland-based Students for Change, along with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, Everytown for Gun Safety, Chicago grassroots organizers, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are joining together to talk about the gun violence epidemic, and I was thrilled to help. Each morning, I was able to be a part of an internal staff meeting, where I brainstormed strategy with four supervisors. I gathered a list of potential donors for the summit that led to total donations of over $250,000, drafted social media for use by the students and unions, and created press pitch lists to achieve maximum media for the event. I was so humbled by the power of the student groups and was honored to get to meet some of the best leaders of my generation. The passion and drive of my colleagues in this project was so inspiring, and something I hope to emulate when I get the opportunity to run an issue advocacy campaign myself. The experience I gained in meetings with these impressive consulting figures and leaders of major political organizations was unimaginable and sparked a passion for political communications that was unanticipated at the start of my summer.
I also learned a lot from a small group of conservative clients. I was assigned to research a congressional race in Florida on behalf of a financial group seeking insight before donating to a Republican candidate. With little guidance or any clue at all what an election memo should look like, I set my sights high and was proud to finish the memo in a timely manner with great response from my supervisors. Learning how to get the necessary information for a task from very busy and intimidating firm partners and former Clinton staff was a bit difficult at first, but I am so grateful I had the opportunity to learn how to hold my own in daunting professional situations.
Apart from my major projects with Freedom From Facebook and the Student Gun Violence Summit, most of my other work involved communications work for America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group, and Muslim Advocates. Work for press events usually involved curating a list of reporters to contact using Vocus software, calling national and local news desks to ensure they had received our advisory and planned to send a reporter, and sending notes to reporters to remind them about upcoming events. I also was able to help plan a couple of press calls and events, including the main press conference following the Supreme Court’s decision on the President’s travel ban, which gave me a front row seat to an amazing rally in support of immigrants. I was able to monitor countless press calls with America’s voice that included speakers from Congress, prominent think tanks, and non-profits which solidified by interests in immigration reform and reminded me daily why I chose to intern with New Paradigm.
One of the reasons I chose to work as a communications intern this summer was to learn what it is like to use writing skills for tasks other than academic paper drafting or creative writing. Trying my hand at writing op-eds, letters to editors, and press releases was a bit overwhelming at first, but so rewarding. My supervisors even created sample writing tests to mimic the ones commonly used in communications job interviews, which was so helpful in learning how to hold my own with other students whom attend schools that offer public relations degrees. I will return to Williams this fall with an appreciation for more a briefer writing style, attention to detail in copy editing, and an ability to express opinion in a manner that is appropriate for print. I was also able to go on a couple of informational interviews, which will be helpful for future employment and gave me valuable networking experience.
Prior to the start of my internship, I was a bit worried about how my work would make an impact on the lives of the people who I was able to interact with during prior experience with non-profits and immigration attorneys. The transition to a more business-like environment where clients are not the ones being most affected by the policies we are ultimately supporting was a bit odd at first. By the end of the summer, however, I had a new understanding of just how much work goes into the exposure of issue advocacy movements, and I learned that sometimes drafting the best tweets and media coverage really does have an impact on the movement that rivals the effectiveness of the grassroots organizers themselves.
I would not have been able to have such a career changing experience without the support of the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration and I am forever grateful.