Back to the Hill

We are excited to spotlight Chisom Okorafor, who participated in our USF in DC Program in the fall of 2024. Her time in DC as a Politics major was special and a turning point in her education. The city has become her home away from home, this summer she returns as an intern for the Insitiute for Policy Studies. Here she reflects on what it was like to be in the nations captial during such a pivitol time in American Politics and how this expirence has shaped her education, understanding of politics, and her future career goals.

I step out of the airport and breathe in a big gulp. It smells like exhaust and heat, but that doesn’t affect the smile on my face. I feel like I’ve landed home, because I’m back in Washington, D.C. 

In Fall 2024, I had the opportunity to come to D.C. because of the McCarthy Center’s USF in DC program. That time was a particularly unique time to be in the city, because that was when the 2024 presidential election happened. 

From a purely academic perspective, my time in D.C. that semester was invaluable. As a Politics major, the city was a hotbed of political activity. I was up close and personal for much of it. I’m particularly interested in studying militarism and the resistance to it. That semester, I attended anti-war protests at the Capitol, crashed Anthony Blinken’s testimony at Congress, and attended lectures by United Nations Special Rapporteurs. I also got to analyze electoral politics from an all-new perspective. The Institute for Policy Studies, the think tank I was interning at, is the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, so I had a very clear picture of what people who worked with or near campaigns were thinking of the race as it was happening.

The classes I was taking at the time with USF were crucial in analyzing the election as well. In Campaigns and Elections, the class led by professors Ken Goldstein and Brett Di Resta, we dissected campaign ads, teams, and strategies. All the information we learned was immediately practical, even for people not interested in going into electoral politics as a career. I can honestly say that no class I’ve taken within the Politics department is like Campaigns and Elections. We also learned about networking and professional development in our internship class, and studied D.C. as a city in our Research class, all irreplaceable experiences.

Of course, any recounting of my time in D.C. would be remiss without talking about the Institute for Policy Studies. I’ve returned to working with them this summer, and it’s because not only did I fall in love with D.C., but I truly love working with IPS. I view it as my second home. I work as a Communications Intern, producing social media content and articles. I have a lot of creative discretion over what I make for IPS, especially in regards to writing articles. The articles I write for IPS get national distribution, showing up in newspapers like the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Orange County Register. It’s thrilling for me, especially given the fact that I’m interested in pursuing a career in journalism – a fact I discovered about myself here in D.C. as well, when I attended Howard University’s Democracy and Journalism conference on a whim.

In some ways, D.C. has changed since I last was here. Now, instead of running into Harris aides after work, I bump into staffers loudly bragging about the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill. I went to watch the fireworks for the 4th of July at the National Mall, and the Department of Agriculture building had a massive poster of Trump right next to one of Lincoln. But in most ways, it’s the same city I fell in love with. I’m glad to be back, and I’m so grateful to the McCarthy Center for giving me the opportunity to spend the semester.