My thoughts and experiences regarding my internship at The Institute of World Politics are all very positive because I had such a great learning and working experience. From working directly with the Senior Vice President on Cyber Intelligence to working with the Operations Department, every day in the office was different. This internship is well-designed for undergraduate students to prepare for a career in the field of national security, intelligence, or international affairs.
I am currently studying Government and International Politics with a double minor in International Security and Intelligence Analysis at George Mason University, and I am very aware that the IWP internship was a step in the right direction. At IWP, interns gain the advantages of networking with top policymakers and government officials that come into the office. Another part of this internship program involves helping in the operations department, planning and implementation of the Institute’s public lecture series, writing articles for the website, staffing the front lobby, and assisting in the Institute’s library.
The biggest lesson I learned during my time as an intern is that networking is very critical in today’s world. I was able to meet and speak with many professionals in the intelligence field, and I learned a great number of things regarding the realm of cyber intelligence – from doing a report on how artificial intelligence and quantum computing can impact cyber warfare to writing up briefs that deal with how cloud computing and blockchain can impact data security.
The best part about this internship, for me, was that every day is different and that I had the opportunity to meet members of the intelligence community who led discussions and seminars. The Career Services department was very helpful with networking; its team expertly puts interns in touch with the right people to find potential employment opportunities. They also provide helpful resume workshops. As a graduating senior, these resources were very important to me, and, thanks to them, I was able to acquire a full-time job. Being able to talk about what I have done at this internship greatly impacted my success in the interview process. In this internship, there are many tools and resources offered, but you must have initiative to take advantage of them.
The best advice I have for incoming interns is to put yourselves out there, and use all the tools and resources that IWP offers. My overall learning experience at The Institute of World Politics exceeded my expectations, and I never imagined that, from when I first applied to my last day, this internship would have impacted my professional life the way that it did.
Marco Salvo
Spring 2019
Marco has recently accepted as position with Accenture Federal Services as a Technology Engineer Analyst.
