| NEWS RELEASE |
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Office of External Communications |
Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Angie Joe |
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FOR LELAND CONGRESSIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Reading about public policy in a textbook isn’t enough for Yadira Castellanos, a senior in political science and Spanish at the University of Houston. “Knowledge without application is sometimes easily forgotten,” said Castellanos. “I am excited about the opportunity to touch and feel the process in the heart of our nation’s capital.” This spring, she joins five other students from UH and Texas Southern University as participants in the Mickey Leland Congressional Internship Program in Washington, D.C. The program was founded by the late congressman to give Houston-area students an opportunity to work in national politics. Today, the program is open to upper level students from the two universities. It is administered by UH’s Center for Public Policy (CPP). “Internships are becoming as necessary as the attainment of a degree in jump-starting careers,” said Renée Cross, associate director of the CPP and director of the Leland Program. “Amit Patel, a 2004 Leland intern, snared a position with U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman right after he completed his DC internship. As incredibly bright and talented as Amit is, it would have been difficult for him to get such a position without the experience he received working as a government intern in both Washington and Houston.” A reception will honor the 2005 Leland interns Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University Hilton, 4800 Calhoun. Media are invited to attend. The Leland interns and their university affiliation are Yadira Castellanos (UH), Kevin Dancy (TSU), Dorian Jones (TSU), Nathalie Le (UH), Cynthia Lucero (UH) and Adrianne Thomas (UH). Since its inception in 1981, the Mickey Leland Congressional Internship Program has placed nearly 200 students from TSU and UH as interns in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. In addition to the program’s practical training, the program includes a strong academic component through weekly seminars led by a Washington-based instructor. Interns earn 9-15 credit hours upon the completion of the program requirements. Major sponsors of the program include UH, Houston Endowment, Continental Airlines and the Center for Public Policy.
For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom. |
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