Boise State students receive scholarships for state Capitol internships

As part of the legislative internship program at the Idaho Statehouse, 10 Boise State students were granted $750 scholarships to work in the state Capitol.

Justin Vaughn, a School of Public Service assistant professor of political science, and Wendy Jaquet, an adjunct professor and former state representative, launched a fundraising effort to subsidize internship costs.

“During my 18 years in the legislature, we saw a decrease in the number of internship applicants, I believe because many students couldn’t afford to,” Jaquet said. “We’re now trying to ensure that fewer Boise State students have to make the choice of whether or not they can afford this experience.”

Interns attend a weekly class taught by Vaughn, attend committee meetings, conduct research, meet with lobbyists and more. Many of these interns are able to do so because of the scholarship.

“The scholarship has been a great blessing,” Emily Richards, a student in the Master of Public Administration program, said. “Doing an internship is essentially working for free. But when you factor in the cost of tuition, a student is actually paying to do a job. The scholarship makes it much more feasible, for which I am very grateful.”

The scholarship is for juniors, seniors or graduate students who participate in an internship with the Idaho State legislature and enroll in three internship credits though Boise State’s Political Science department.