Washington DC | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

Meet the 2024 USF In DC Fellows

Congratulations to our newest cohort of USF in DC Fellows. This semester, nine students from various majors will be immersed in the policymaking processes in the U.S. capital. Our fellows will get a front row seat to observe and learn how public policy happens at the national level and build the skill set necessary to…

Meet Our ’21 USF in DC Fellows

We are proud to introduce this semester’s USF in DC cohort! USF in DC is a semester-long program in Washington, D.C. that integrates a full-time internship with relevant coursework taught by USF faculty and University of California Washington Program (UC DC) faculty. Meet our Fellows, and wish them congrats and good luck! Ethan Tan –…

Student krystal giraldes poses for photo

View from Washington, D.C.

In this week’s blog, Blakley Scholar recipient Krystal Giraldes ’20 tells us about her impactful internship and overall experience as part of the USF in DC program. She previously interned last summer as a McCarthy Fellow in Sacramento. I have been passionate about politics since middle school, when I noticed the partisan divide between my…

Introducing Our Fall 2018 USF in DC Fellows

Congratulations to our USF in DC Fall 2018 cohort! They are getting ready for an upcoming semester in Washington, D.C. in various parts of the Beltway–think tanks, law firms, non-profit organizations, in Congress, and policy advocacy shops. Please join us in welcoming our newest group of students. The USF in DC program combines a public…

After a Semester with USF in DC

Jacqueline Garcia, Politics ’19, is a Newmark scholar as well as a recipient of the Betty L. Blakley scholarship. USF in D.C.—what an experience! On many levels and in ways I didn’t expect, the semester I spent in Washington D.C. changed me. I’ve always had an interest in public service and the common good; one of…

We Weren’t Born to Follow

Trish Fontana was a former staffer for Leo T. McCarthy. She has also worked for two California Lt. Governors, two Governors, two First Ladies and two State Senators. She continues to work in the State Capitol, currently for Senator Richard D. Roth, a retired Major Air Force General who represents Riverside. This past weekend, I…

The Paths of Esther Madríz Diversity Scholars

The Esther Madríz Diversity Scholars (EMDS) is a living-learning community that explores issues of diversity, inequality, social justice, and social change. Named after the late Esther Madríz, beloved USF professor of sociology who embodied the Ignatian ideals of education of the whole person as a means toward social justice, Esther Madríz Diversity Scholars examine and challenge these…

In D.C.’s Public Defender Service

Vivienne Pismarov, Psychology ’19 This fall semester, through the USF in DC program, I’ve had the opportunity to intern with the Public Defender Service. Everyone working there is tasked with one job and one job only: do everything in your power to support your client. As an investigative intern, I request records, locate potential witnesses,…