I feel lucky. This semester I've had two great alums come into the department's required course on writing and research in the major and speak about what they've done since graduation. Matt Perry '05 was in a month or so ago and talked about how interning and networking led him to become the local political director for Congressman Adam Smith. And last week Josh McDonald '02 came by.
Since graduating Josh worked on local campaigns, served as a lobbyist in Olympia, and is now an in-house lobbyist with the Washington Restaurant Association. He gave the students a number of great ideas and opportunities, including a great internship with the WRA itself that would give students exposure to lobbying and getting legislation passed in the state capitol. What I took away from his presentation was what I heard from Matt and indeed, many of our alums--you need to make and extend connections, get experience, get to know people and those will help open all kinds of doors. Josh is a great contact and any of our students who want to know more about working in Olympia should contact him--just email me and I can help put you in touch. Thanks again, Josh, it was great to see you again after all these years.
