Election Day is always a great reminder of how ordinary citizens – especially students – can make a difference in our democracy. If you are interested in politics, specifically learning more about how you can change your community from the ground up, visit our website and find out more about the program!
The application deadline for the spring is December 1st and March 15th for summer 2010!
A Quick Overview
Semester In Washington Politics offers an invaluable up-close view of Washington, D.C. You’ll learn how political decisions are made, how power is wielded and how government is run – because you’ll be right in the center of the process. Semester In Washington is a guided, hands-on tour of the workings of the U.S. government. We will immerse you in the processes that define our political system.
As one of the first scholarship recipients to attend the Native American Political Leadership Program, Randall was walking into a new situation. As an already active member of his tribe – the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians in Alabama – Randall wanted to continue his love for education and politics in D.C. Entering his senior year at Troy University with an internship already under his belt at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Randall attended NAPLP in the spring of 2006 and interned on Capitol Hill. Upon completion of the program he went to work on a campaign, leading the Republican candidate for a local state House race to victory in both the competitive primary and general election. Since that race, Randall has continued to work for GOP causes, was chosen as the James Madison Fellow for Alabama and was awarded a graduate fellowship grant. He has completed coursework at Georgetown University and plans on finishing a Master’s degree in Secondary Education. He is also an active freelance writer for the politics and government section of his local newspaper, the Call News. Randall recalls his experience with NAPLP as “second to none.”
Charlayne came to the Native American Political Leadership Program with an already impressive background as an Executive Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, a Japanese interpreter and as a property consultant in her home-state of Hawaii. She has a Bachelors degree in economics and a Master’s degree in counseling psychology. As one of the first Native Hawaiians to attend the program in the spring of 2008, Charlayne interned in the office of then-Senator Barack Obama at the height of his presidential campaign, starting work on the same day as the Iowa Caucuses. After completing the program in Washington, D.C., Charlayne went to work in the Hawaii State Legislature and is currently studying pre-law with a goal of attending law school close to home. “None of the things that I do now in politics would have been possible without NAPLP,” Charlayne has said. “Before attending the program I knew I needed an education in politics; NAPLP provided that in more ways than I could have known at the time.”
Before arriving in Washington, D.C., Marcus studied tribal law and sustainable development. He was an active member of his tribe – the Menominee – in Wisconsin, and completed the Native American Political Leadership Program in the spring of 2009. Since finishing the program, Marcus has interned at the Climate Action Network, participated in the Center for Progressive Leadership’s New Leaders Program, and has appeared on his first radio program to discuss youth leadership and the environmental movement. Most recently, Marcus created a non-profit – Citizens for a Sustainable Future – to highlight renewable energy and sustainable development efforts in his own tribal community. Because of that work, Marcus was awarded a Clinton Global Initiative grant to implement a renewable energy strategy on the Menominee Tribal Regional Transportation System and to visit local middle schools to give students hands on experience with renewable energy. Marcus’ long-term goal is to make Indian Country the leader in sustainability efforts – to provide a concrete example for the world to follow.“I learned at NAPLP that my people can lead in a new way,” Marcus said. “I feel confident that I can go back home, with the skills I learned, and influence positive change.”
