Interview by Isabelle Zgorzelski
Emma Wrona knew about Baylor’s Semester in Washington Program even before she was a first-year student at Baylor University. This program was one of the reasons she applied to Baylor in the first place. This program would allow her to sharpen her professional skills, discern which work environments she thrives in, and learn which projects she enjoyed working on. No matter what internship she had for the semester, she knew she would learn something valuable from it.
As a current student in the Spring 2023 Cohort of Baylor’s Semester in Washington Program, Wrona is interning in the United States Congress within the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Her previous experience with internships focused on the foreign policy and intelligence communities. She did not want to miss this opportunity to spend a semester in DC working in Congress. Wrona explains that the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee is a bi-partisan committee focusing on how world events are affecting the United States. The committee oversees legislation regarding foreign policy, including war powers, treaties, executive agreements, foreign assistance, international economic policy, and other matters.
As an intern on the House International Affairs Committee, Wrona is able to focus her attention and skills on many different subjects ranging from tracking economic agreements in the Indo-Pacific to the undersea cable communications between China and Taiwan. One of the most important projects she worked on was working on research regarding the agreements among Compacts of Free Association (COFA) countries. The information she gathered will be presented in briefings and subcommittee hearings and could be placed in a bill. Her ability to give supporting research to assist her colleagues with their work and see it used by higher authorities has been impactful in her experience working for the committee. She says she never thought that her work would be used to help with important issues on behalf of the United States Government.
Being able to work on Capitol Hill, see the inner working of the House side of the U.S. Congress, and hear from the perspectives of Congressmen and Congresswomen have encouraged her to continue to pursue a path in international relations. She can see perspectives from multiple angles and understand the outcomes of multiple decisions. Each day is different, she says, in what she learns and what projects she can help with. Yet, each day she is learning more about what it takes to work in Washington, D.C.
Without this experience of interning in the House International Affairs Committee, she would have never known how much her skills would grow and her understanding of foreign affairs would develop. Wrona says she could not have wished for a better experience in Washington, D.C. and encourages other students to apply to the program even if they think they are unqualified. Apply! If you don’t apply for opportunities you never know what you missed.
For more information about the Baylor in Washington, D.C. Program and how you could pursue an internship in foreign affairs, check out information here.