JUNE 2011 Institute Alumni Scholarship JFK 50th Career Services and Internships HKS Student Stipends National Millennials Poll New Gov 2.0 Grant Program Forum and Fellows IOP Director’s Internships Providing a Pathway to Employment in Public Service ABOVE: New IOP Director and Institute alumnus Trey Grayson ’94 meets this summer’s student participants in the Director’s Internships program, which recently led three former interns to full-time jobs after graduation. Welcome to the Institute of Politics at Harvard University Trey Grayson, Director As many of you know, I joined the Institute of Politics as the new Director in late January, succeeding Interim Director and former U.S. senator John C. Culver (D-IA), who remains active on our Senior Advisory Committee as chairman emeritus. It has been incredibly satisfying working with staff and students this year to lead the Institute, as the IOP played a pivotal role in developing my interest and approach to politics and public service as a Harvard undergraduate. It was a particular privilege to begin my service during the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, to whom we serve as a living memo- rial aiming to inspire the next generation to a life in politics and public service, and be involved in two inspiring “JFK 50th” events at the Kennedy Center on January 19 aiming to achieve this important goal central to our mission. Fulfillment of the Institute’s mission was evident all semester long, particularly in a February Harvard Crimson feature on the path of three IOP students who turned Director’s Internships into post-graduate full-time employment with their host organization and started a public service career. Other programmatic successes included a fantastic spring slate of John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum events – viewed in person or online by over 53,000 people; attracting nearly 200 new students to the IOP during Harvard’s first-ever Optional Winter Activities Week (OWAW); awarding our first “Gov 2.0” grant to a student entrepreneurial venture relating to domestic politics or government; strong press coverage for our latest Millennials political poll; and a renewed emphasis on Director’s Dinners as a place where students, faculty from across Harvard, IOP alumni and community members can come together and engage with political practitioners in a setting unlike anything else at Harvard or the Boston area. As always, our Fellows, including former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (Visiting Fellow), were also a big hit on campus. We placed a big emphasis this semester on beginning implementation of many of the recommendations in the fall 2010 strategic review spearheaded by Senator Culver, particularly in the area of improving our technological capabilities, and I am excited to continue this important work in the semesters ahead to To subscribe to the IOP’s strengthen the IOP going forward. Please visit our website’s homepage at e-mail list, visit our www.iop.harvard.edu to learn more about our programming and to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter – sent on Fridays during the semester – featuring recent website and find the e-mail photos and information on upcoming IOP events. subscription section under “Stay Informed.” I am enjoying collaborating with the staff, students, and my University and Harvard Kennedy School colleagues to inspire students to pursue public service – the IOP’s unique and unparalleled mission is needed now more than ever. I hope to see you this fall, and thanks again for your interest in the IOP. Trey Grayson 1 INSTITUTE OF POLITICS IOP Alumni Scholarship Frankie Assaf’s commitment to education reform earns IOP Alumni Scholarship for study at John F. Kennedy School of Government As a Harvard undergraduate, there were two places – other than the classroom – “The non-profit that Francis “Frankie” Assaf called home: the Institute of Politics and the Phillips management, policy Brooks House Association (PBHA). Assaf’s dedicated work at the Institute and development, and PBHA helped turn his personal passion for urban education reform into a career political leadership path focused on ending inner-city educational inequity. skills that I gain at A Boston, MA, native, Assaf witnessed firsthand education challenges present in Harvard Kennedy urban areas, where he “struggled to understand why many of my fellow classmates School will be instru- and friends fell through the academic cracks and could not fulfill their potential” in mental for success- the classroom and took his interest in improving inner-city education to Harvard. fully achieving my At PBHA, Assaf focused throughout the year in the Franklin neighborhood of Dorchester, where he identified a real need for urban education reform. “The solu- future goals in public tion to this need,” said Assaf “came from the IOP.” Assaf relished discussing educa- service.” tion and other key issues as a member of the Institute’s student Harvard Political Union, one of the College’s premier associations for political debate, and took – 2011 Institute of advantage of the opportunity to engage with government leaders at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, where he gained “a keen awareness of the power and potential Politics Alumni Scholarship for politics and public policy to affect significant social change.” These experiences winner Francis “Frankie” led Assaf to work in the education policy arena after graduation in 2008 and in- Assaf spired him to apply to the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Master in Public Policy (MPP) program. In recognition of his commitment to improving education and the lives of Amer- ica’s urban youth, the Institute is pleased to announce Assaf has been named the 2011 Institute of Politics Alumni Scholarship winner in support of his work to- ward a two-year MPP degree. The IOP Alumni Scholarship is a merit-based op- portunity for students active as undergraduates with the Institute’s programming to receive financial support toward a graduate degree at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). As the Institute is dedicated to inspiring students to a life of politics, public service and leadership, the scholarship furthers that mission by providing a full, two-year scholarship to IOP alumni to enhance their educational experience at HKS. “The non-profit management, policy development, and political leadership skills that I gain at Harvard Kennedy School will be instrumental for successfully achiev- ing my future goals in public service,” said Assaf. “Drawing on my MPP train- ing, after graduation, I want to continue to affect education reform in New York by working in an education non-profit that will help state government and local school districts implement more effective academic practices and public policies.” Past recipients of the IOP’s Harvard Kennedy School scholarship include Quinnie Lin (SAC 2008), Meghan Haggerty (SAC 2006), Emily Nielson (SAC 2004) and Eli Rosenbaum (SAC 2005). INSTITUTE OF POLITICS 2 Internships Program Recent Director’s Interns turning summer internships into post-graduate employment ABOVE: IOP Director As a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, aiming to inspire students to Trey Grayson (front row, consider careers in politics and public service, the IOP is always hopeful an center) sits with the 2011 Institute public service internship can nurture an interest in or develop the start of Director’s Internships class a career in that area after students leave Harvard. in May. This summer, the New trends suggest hoping may not be needed. Three students receiving 2009 students will undertake Director’s Internships – full-time, fully funded opportunities enabling students public service work across to participate in a substantive, unique political or public service experience – re- the country and around the cently secured post-graduation jobs with their summer internship host organiza- world. tions. These exciting, tangible successes reinforce data from a 2008 IOP survey of over 100 former Director’s Interns showing nearly twenty percent were led or connected to paid employment directly as a result of their internship experiences. 2009 IOP Director’s Intern Abby Phillip (top photo at left) turned a summer IOP internship with POLITICO, a top Washington, D.C.-based media outlet, into a full-time job as a staff writer the following year during the frenetic 2010 midterm election cycle. She credits the IOP’s internship as a rigorous opportunity offering experience in journalism – very quickly. “From day one at POLITICO, I was making phone calls and writing stories. It was more than an internship; it was a job – and one of the most coveted in Wash- ington,” said Phillip. “For three months, I had an opportunity to cover politics in one of the most fascinating periods in presidential and congressional history with a cadre of some of the best political reporters in Washington. Two years later, my internship still holds a place as one of the most formative periods of my career.” As a 2009 Director’s Intern in the office of U.S. senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Luis Urbina (pictured with Shaheen in middle photo) was given the substantive task of researching and compiling key facts for the senator to cite publicly and was struck by the responsibility’s rewards. “I realized that this office was somewhere I could make a real contribution to the world, right out of college,” said Urbina. “I was thrilled to return to Senator Shaheen’s office after graduation.” Prior to serving as a 2009 Director’s Intern at Google’s Washington, D.C., office, Eric Hysen (pictured at left with Google’s public sector product and program manager Ginny Hunt) knew he loved computer technology and saw value in a life of service, but didn’t know how he could do both as a profession. “My Di- rector’s Internship at Google made me realize that I could combine my interests in technology and public service as a career,” said Hysen.