Kirkwood Donavin '11
Senator Tom Harkin's Office, Cedar Rapids, IA
In May of 2009, Kirkwood Donavin interned at Senator Tom Harkin's Office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Donavin performed office duties such as answering phones, filing and retrieving the mail. He recorded constituent comments and sent them to Senator Harkin and his staff in Washington, D.C. He also handled casework for various workers in the Cedar Rapids office as well as from Senator Harkin’s other offices across the state. Casework consisted of receiving and responding to correspondence from various federal or private organizations as well as constituents and acting as a mediator between them to help solve a particular issue.
Donavin credits One Course at a Time for his success at this internship, "Cornell’s block plan is consistently heralded for its professional preparation ability because it teaches students how to manage tasks quickly and efficiently. In order to survive the short block courses, students must complete tasks assigned in a timely manner. The work ethic I picked up from Cornell’s system, assisted me in Senator Harkin’s office. The ability to get things done on time and move on enabled me to remain on top of my work."
Donavin found his Berry Center internship to be influence his future plans; be believes that interning at "Senator Harkin’s office has helped demonstrate to me my interest in government and politics. I am learning that I am very passionate about current events and ideas about how to solve our national and international problems. These realizations help me focus my future plans. I would love to intern for Senator Harkin or another Senator or Representative in the future. It would be fantastic to venture to Washington D.C. to get some experience in a national office. My experience in a senator’s office has taught me about government careers I would be able to pursue if I got a law degree. This increases my focus on law school as a possible post graduate option. Additionally, this internship has given me an understanding of how valuable internships are."
Click here to read Kirkwood's internship blog.