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INTERN IN ACTION-- LAILA SHETTY
April 2002

Laila Shetty with Senator Hillary Clinton

Laila Shetty, a junior Economics major, began her internship for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in January 2002 after hearing about it through the Office of Career Development and Senator Clinton’s webpage. Working directly with Senator Clinton’s press secretary, Nina Blackwell, Shetty helps to both inform the Senate Office of current media coverage and to keep the media up to date with the Senator’s press schedule. Her responsibilities include looking through major newspapers for articles about or of interest to the Senator, as well as reading and summarizing the editorials. She also calls television and radio stations to inform them of press conferences and meetings involving the Senator.

"I have always dreamed of being a politician and now I am getting a first hand view of what it would actually be like," Shetty says. "It is amazing the amount of work that Senator Clinton’s office has daily, and I am learning so much about the world of politics." Having worked on Senator Clinton’s election campaign, this experience is especially rewarding for Laila, as she gets to experience the fruits of her labor.

Politics requires winning contests, and Shetty is no stranger to that. For the past year, she traveled around the world playing in a variety of professional tennis tournaments in India, Mexico, and the United States. Her time and commitment to tennis paid off and she was able to obtain a professional ranking. The skills she learned from being a committed athlete, coupled with her experience in Barnard campus organizations, contribute to her success in her current internship and beyond. Shetty hopes to use her experience this semester for her senior thesis, which she plans to write on economics and politics. She also knows that her experiences will help her for her future career goals.

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If you would like to be featured as the Barnard Intern in Action please send an email to Cara Smith, Internship Program Coordinator, at csmith@barnard.edu. Indicate where you are interning, what you are doing, and why you would like to be considered.