The author is guest writer Wilberto (Berto) Sicard '20, an Africana Studies student and Special Collections assistant, pictured right with Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

In Spring 2019, I was deep in the process of applying to several internships and came upon two competitive government internships in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state’s capital and seat of government. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives sponsored the first internship, which consisted of working as an Archives Intern and performing the work of describing, preserving, and organizing the history of the House. The second internship was offered by the James A. Finnegan Foundation and required an essay competition. Following the essay competition, the Foundation selected between four to eight winners who were then assigned to a 10-week paid position within the state government. Additionally, the program featured weekly lunches with key Pennsylvania cabinet members and officials.