Florida Democratic Party, Fort Lauderdale, FL
For as long as I could remember, I have been interested in politics. Understanding the intricacies of our political system and how it functions has been my way of connecting with society and making sense of the world around me. This is why I was ecstatic when this summer, I was given the opportunity to intern for the Florida Democratic Party in Fort Lauderdale. I have lived in Florida for my entire life and I have a keen interest in state politics, so I was thrilled to be able to spend my summer at home, working for an organization that shares many of my hopes and goals for the future of the state.
At the Florida Democratic Party (FDP), my official title was a Party Affairs Fellow. However, throughout my internship, I cycled through many of the various branches of the organization, working most closely with the Finance and Party Affairs departments while also completing projects within the Communications, Voter Protection, and Data and Technology branches. Interestingly enough, when I first started working for the Florida Democratic Party, I lacked a clear understanding of what the organization’s role in politics is. The FDP is a non-profit, but counter to what I had previously thought, it is not officially with the Democratic National Committee. Rather, states’ parties operate independently of the DNC and are funded through donations. The chief aim of the FDP is to help Democrats win elections in Florida. The means by which this is achieved include fundraising, registering voters, and identifying and combatting instances of voter suppression. I find the FDP’s mission to be of incredible importance—Florida is not only my home but also the largest swing state in the country. Presidential candidates of both parties know that the results in Florida can make the difference between winning and losing the national election and consequentially, registering voters as well as ensuring that every person’s right to vote is upheld is of key importance. I find this work to be crucial because the party strives to attain goals that are necessary for improving the future of Florida and the country at large including mitigating climate change, reducing inequality, and protecting the rights of all people.
This summer, one of the main projects that I was tasked with was creating a database of every lobbyist that is registered in Florida. As part of a team of interns, I tracked down the name and contact information of every lobbyist and organized the data into an Excel sheet. The project took weeks to complete but as I gained more experience with Excel, I was able to find ways to streamline the process and make our data tracking more efficient. This experience was valuable to me as I have never worked extensively with spreadsheets before and this opportunity allowed me to become familiar with the program. Another role I was frequently assigned was to call potential donors and voters alike to ask for support for the organization. One example of this assignment is when I identified key donors in our statewide database and called each donor to invite them to a banquet that took place at the FDP’s annual conference. Another project that I worked on was locating the results of all municipal elections in Florida and identifying counties with upcoming elections so that the organization could pinpoint which counties to target.
I was astounded by the constant fast pace of the office atmosphere. This year was what the staff at the FDP referred to as an “off-year” because it is wedged between our midterm election and the presidential election—there are no statewide or national elections held in Florida this year. However, the office was always buzzing with energy and there was rarely a minute to spare. Contrary to what I had expected to find, there is never truly a break when one works in politics, regardless of whether there is an upcoming election or not. There were always new challenges to tackle, events to organize, press releases to disperse, and donors and voters to call, regardless of the day.
One particularly exciting aspect of my internship was that in June, the DNC hosted the first round of debates for the 2020 presidential candidates in Miami and I had the opportunity to help organize, plan, and work a fundraising gala before the first night of the debates. This was the first time I had attended a political event of this nature and it was incredibly exciting to play a role in it. At the event, I was able to meet the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services as well as senior staffers of several prominent candidates’ campaigns. The week of the debates was easily my favorite week of work this summer; not only was the office incredibly lively with anticipation and the intern team was able to help out with debate-related activities, but many prominent politicians were in South Florida for the debate. In fact, the night before the first debate, I was able to attend a Town Hall session hosted by Elizabeth Warren. The event was a highlight of my summer and sparked a deep sense of hope and optimism in me for what the future of U.S. politics may look like.
At Williams, I am double majoring in political science and psychology. I am especially interested at the intersection of these two disciplines, where one can understand how individuals think, interact, and vote in their respective political systems. This summer allowed me to apply my studies in a practical sense, thereby enriching my studies. Though I am on the international relations track within the political science major, I am deeply passionate about domestic politics and it was fascinating to be able to spend the summer learning exclusively this realm of politics.
I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and thank the ’68 Center for Career Exploration and the Estate of George Mead. Though I am not sure exactly what career path I want to pursue, this summer solidified my desire to contribute to politics and hopefully advance the goals of the Democratic Party. In fact, I hope to spend my Winter Study in New Hampshire this year, canvassing for a democratic presidential candidate. As we near the next election, I am proud of the contributions that I made to Florida politics and I am optimistic for what the future may hold.
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