As most Petrels know, excellence is something to be expected at OU—but the OU Blog still likes to spotlight those who make us proud. Here are three extraordinary OU students who are entering summer positions they won through rigorous and competitive application processes.
Samantha Flynn ’14
This summer, Samantha Flynn ’14 will participate in the six-week, full-scholarship Hertog Political Studies Program in Washington, D.C. There, she will study politics with some of the best instructors in the country. A double major in Politics and Communications, Samantha aspires to be a political journalist, joining the likes of political correspondent powerhouses such as Juan Williams and George Stephanopolous, both of whom will lecture in the program.
“My dream job is running my own political talk show,” said Samantha. “This program will give me a fantastic opportunity to meet people like Henry Kissinger and George Stephanopolous who have influenced my fields of interest and have extraordinary experience. I definitely think Hertog will further my career goal of being a political journalist.”
Samantha plans to turn the summer in D.C. into a practical application, by blogging about her experience living and learning in D.C.
Evelyn Reisenwitz will participate in the Koch Internship Program with the Institute for Justice in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Evelyn will be researching for the Institute for Justice and she’ll work with a group of Koch fellows on a policy proposal that they’ll present at a conference at the end of the summer. The program selects interns through a rigorous and competitive application process.
“I applied to the program hoping for the best but expecting the worst. When I got the e-mail that I was accepted, I could barely believe my eyes,” said Evelyn, a politics major who wants to go into law. “I am really excited to be working not only in a law firm, but one that pursues the sort of cases that I find compelling. I hope to get a better idea of whether I really want to go into law while also building research and writing experience.”
Morgan Coffey ’13 will be a Gaby Fellow with the Georgia Family Council, where she will serve as an intern with the Center for Policy Studies. Morgan will research current policy issues consistent with the ideals and mission of the Georgia Family Council and write policy reports, commentaries and speeches. She learned of the fellowship just four days before the application deadline, and interviewed a week later. Morgan is also founder of Stronghold Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that reaches out to local victims of domestic abuse. Morgan is focusing on making sure all of her pursuits receive an equal amount of attention.
“It’ll be a little bit of a balancing act making sure I can get everything done while also working at the Georgia Family Council, but I see it as a challenge that’s well worth it!”
