{"id":234880,"date":"2025-09-08T07:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=234880"},"modified":"2025-09-08T08:24:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:24:12","slug":"school-of-public-policy-students-tackle-higher-education-election-integrity-in-washington-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/09\/school-of-public-policy-students-tackle-higher-education-election-integrity-in-washington-d-c\/","title":{"rendered":"School of Public Policy Students Tackle Higher Education, Election Integrity in Washington, D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, two students from UConn\u2019s <\/span>Master of Public Policy (MPP<\/span><\/a>) and <\/span>Master of Public Administration (MPA)<\/span><\/a> programs traded classroom work for the nation\u2019s capital, immersing themselves in federal policy work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Samantha Valle \u201924 (CLAS), \u201926 MPP and Rebecca Dorsey \u201925 (CLAS), \u201926 MPA spent 10 weeks in Washington, D.C., where they tackled issues ranging from higher education access to election integrity. Their experiences gave them a front-row seat to how policy is debated, shaped, and implemented, and helped them sharpen their own visions for future careers in public service. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Samantha Valle \u201924 (CLAS), \u201926 MPP<\/span><\/h2>\n

Valle, a May 2024 graduate with a degree in political science and women\u2019s, gender, and sexuality studies, is now in the second year of her MPP program. The Waterbury native held several on-campus roles during her undergraduate years, including internships at the Dean of Students Office, the Center for Access and Postsecondary Success (CAPS) office for student support services, and the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a TRIO alum myself,\u201d Valle says. \u201cI knew I wanted a student-facing role and to pursue something in the realm of law and policy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Samantha
Valle’s internship focused on higher education issues, including affordability, access, and support for underserved students. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Though she hadn\u2019t envisioned herself working in Washington, Samantha joined the Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI) Summer Scholars program, where she spent 10 weeks exploring higher education policy. The program combined an internship with cohort learning and networking opportunities, including congressional briefings and federal agency meetings. She lived in George Washington University dorms while attending seminars, professional development workshops, and site visits.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her internship work focused on postsecondary education issues such as affordability, access, and support for underserved students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a personal interest in learning more about predatory student loans after the Reconciliation Bill was passed,\u201d she explains. \u201cAs a Pell Grant recipient myself, I wanted to learn how this bill would affect financial aid.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The setting added its own excitement.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust being in the presence of all the monuments was a big thing for me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI was a 10-minute walk from the Lincoln Memorial. When I first arrived, I\u2019d see people coming out of the Senate and House buildings and it was intimidating. Now, I can say I technically worked and lived here, and I can comfortably engage in conversations with colleagues in the policy space.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Back at UConn, Valle continues her work as a graduate assistant in CAPS and is teaching a First Year Experience (FYE) course this semester.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up low-income and as a first-generation college student, I never imagined I\u2019d have the opportunity to be in Washington, D.C., learning firsthand about federal higher education policy,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite her initial hesitation, she\u2019s eager to return to D.C. after graduation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely where it\u2019s happening!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebecca Dorsey \u201925 (CLAS), \u201926 MPA<\/span><\/h2>\n

For Dorsey, a 2025 graduate with a degree in English and political science, this summer was all about election policy. The Terryville resident \u2014 and former high school valedictorian \u2014 followed her interests and spent the summer in Washington, D.C., as an election protection intern for Issue One, a cross-partisan political reform organization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIssue One advocates for free, fair, and secure elections that are fully funded by the federal government,\u201d Dorsey explains.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her interest in elections policy was sparked by a UConn state and local government class taught by Storrs Mayor Toni Moran and former Secretary of State Denise Merrill. Merrill later became a mentor and helped Rebecca secure a prior internship at the Connecticut Secretary of the State\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI learned how elections are administered,\u201d she says. \u201cThat experience gave me the knowledge and background that Issue One really valued.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rebecca
Dorsey’s internship allowed her to conduct research, join legislative and policy team meetings, and contribute to Issue One\u2019s Faces of Democracy campaign. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dorsey found the internship through <\/span>Handshake<\/span><\/a>. With D.C. housing costs out of reach even with her stipend, she arranged to live in Maryland with the family of a UConn friend. She worked remotely two days a week and commuted the other two, taking the Metro 45 minutes and then walking to Issue One\u2019s offices.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn my walk to work I pass a road where you can see both the Washington Monument and the White House,\u201d she says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her free time, she toured the Capitol and attended two election-related hearings on the Hill. Dorsey conducted research, joined legislative and policy team meetings, and contributed to Issue One\u2019s <\/span>Faces of Democracy <\/span><\/i>campaign, which highlights state and local election officials. She helped develop interview questions and spoke with election officials from Hawaii, Virginia, and New York.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe focus on how elections are administered in different states, what challenges officials face, and how we can advocate for them \u2014 things like better funding or cybersecurity infrastructure,\u201d she explains.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The campaign aims to combat online disinformation and humanize election officials to help stop threats of violence against them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re your neighbors,\u201d Dorsey adds. \u201cThey don\u2019t care who wins. They just want to ensure the election is administered fairly.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorsey\u2019s passion for elections dates back to high school when she served as a poll worker. At UConn, she tabled at events to promote early voting and encouraged students to register to vote.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cElections are fundamental to our democracy,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you want to fix issues in this country, you have to start with how we choose our leaders. Civic engagement is essential so we can elect people who will do their best to keep us safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her time in D.C. was a dream come true, yet it also reshaped her career goals.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy professors and mentors always told me you can make the greatest impact at the state level,\u201d she reflects. \u201cIn D.C., everything is incremental. Partisan bickering makes it hard to get anything passed. You don\u2019t see the effects of your work or meet constituents. I realized through this internship that I really enjoy the state level of government.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her final year of the <\/span>4+1 program<\/span><\/a> in the School of Public Policy, Dorsey will complete her Internship and Professional Practice (IPP) with the Connecticut Land Conservation Council.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to do more state-level advocacy and policy work,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m also passionate about protecting the environment because climate change is scary.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, elections remain close to her heart. She will, of course, be at the polls on Election Day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to vote in every election.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Interested in exploring your own career in public service? Explore the School of Public Policy\u2019s <\/span><\/i>IPP internship program<\/span><\/i><\/a> and other experiential learning opportunities.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about how the School assists the Connecticut Secretary of the State\u2019s office with the <\/span><\/i>Registrars of Voters training program<\/span><\/i><\/a> that provides initial certification for CT-based Registrars of Voters, established by state statute.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samantha Valle \u201924 (CLAS), \u201926 MPP and Rebecca Dorsey \u201925 (CLAS), \u201926 MPA participated in engaging summer internships in the nation\u2019s capital<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":234881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-234880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-05 04:00:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234880"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234890,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234880\/revisions\/234890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/234881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234880"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=234880"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=234880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}