Alexia Holliday

Describe the steps you took to obtain your internship.

I've had an interest in studying abroad my whole life. At orientation, I attended a presentation from International Programs about all their different study centers and opportunities. I immediately gained an interest in the internship route and the London location because of the professional development and the familiar culture, yet different political system, the United Kingdom shares with the U.S. I attended info sessions about the London Internship Program, applied to it, interviewed with a company IP thought would be a good fit, and was placed with Unlock Democracy.

How far in advance did you prepare and begin applying for your experiential learning opportunity?

I attended the IP orientation session on May 25, 2023, and have been preparing since then. My entire freshman year of college I spent getting ready to not only start my first internship, but also to travel across the world and live abroad for 3 months. I applied in September and interviewed on April 15.

If you used any Career Center services, resources, or events to obtain your internship, what were they? How did they support your application process?

I used the Career Center a lot in my first few months at FSU for help in creating my resume and learning how to interview.

Describe some of your responsibilities or duties during your experiential learning opportunity.

During my 6 week full-time internship with Unlock Democracy, I authored mayoral election reports, wrote blog posts about citizens' opinions on the state of politics, analyzed spreadsheets and data on constituencies and dark money centered unincorporated associations, and attended informative political events. My third week on the job, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a General Election. This dramatic political event caused a shift in my role from assisting in advocating for future electoral reform, to staying up to date on the parties' standings in the polls, keeping an eye on democratic policies in their election manifestos, and advocating for voter ID awareness across the UK. I had the honor of working under former long-standing Member of Parliament Tom Brake in my internship, who gave me insight into the nature of British politics and his journey as an MP.

What was a typical day like "on the job?"

After taking the tube to St. James Park and heading into the offices above the station, I'd get situated at my desk and join the 10am Zoom meeting check-in, where my coworkers and I would all go over our tasks for the day. On an average day, I'd maybe edit a blog in the morning, research histories of certain unincorporated associations after lunch, and monitor political news outlets in the afternoon. I'd end work with a 4pm Zoom check-in where I'd summarize what I got done that day.

What are some major takeaways from your experience? How will these help prepare you for the next step after graduation?

My internship taught me the comparative politics between the United Kingdom and United States' political systems. It showed me not only how a multiparty system truly looks and functions, but how a general election looks, too. It made me realize how irrevocably polarized American politics has become, and how interested British people are in hearing about the reality of living in that polarization. I now think far more globally than I previously did, which is such an important trait to have going into the field of politics. As for the preparation it has given me for after graduation, I could see myself exploring further international opportunities with the knowledge I have of different forms of government.

Did this experience help clarify your career path? If yes, how so?

This experience definitely helped answer a lot of questions I had for myself about what I truly wanted in the field of politics. At Unlock Democracy, we did a lot of work on the state of politics, advocating for democratic issues we felt were of dire importance. And though I did enjoy this work- monitoring political parties, attending democratic themed events, and contributing to our current campaigns- it made me realize that my passion lies within politics, not outside of it. I want to be writing the legislation, or working on the politician's team; not writing about their actions from afar.