What it’s like working for a Fiorina Super PAC

Many people hear about spectacular college students today working at the White House, the FBI, Goldman-Sachs and more. Wow, you think, what a glamorous position to hold. But what does such an internship entail? What really goes on when a college student works at a prestigious institution or corporation?

Well, internships are often difficult to clump together, with many not being as alluring or prestigious as one may envision. My freshman college roommate at Georgetown, Bryce Couch, interned for the Carly for America Super PAC, and his experience was anything but enchanting.

“The best way I can describe it is fast-paced,” Bryce admitted. “A lot more goes on behind the scenes than one would initially think. There is a lot of technical [processes] that go into the crafting of the candidate’s narrative and playing up the aspects that people are responding to.” Bryce worked on such processes. Being involved in more of the policy arena, Bryce attended numerous meetings with other various interns, most of whom were “very professional [and] courteous,” yet had different reasons why they supported Carly. Working together with relatively unknown peers to help craft parts of the “narrative” was definitely challenging. Bryce remarks, “it is a constant push and pull—putting something out there for people to respond to and taking something out of that experience.”

In addition, the national political environment was generally volatile this election cycle. Swiftly changing, the public’s mercurial opinion needed to be closely observed, an example of another region in which interns could work. Bryce noted, “they had tracking software that monitored what people talking about on various platforms—Twitter, Facebook, etc.” As such, members of the Super PAC would map how the public responded to certain comments Ms. Fiorina would make during debates. But outsiders don’t always see this. Bryce conceded that this was the most astonishing facet of the experience.

Despite being very well-read and informed, he said, “I didn’t understand the depth and complexity” of campaigns. “It is much more than just giving speeches, it’s the human analytics that give a campaign life and sustain the message.” So many, many individuals’ hard work and persistence aggregate to form the scaffolding on which Ms. Fiorina could deliver. This is why a candidate’s campaign represents an onion. An onion? Yes, an onion, because there are many layers that form the onion itself, even though most people only view the outside. From the core out, a candidate needs enthusiastic interns like Bryce to fill out the shell of the campaign.

The unfortunate part of all this, at least for people like Bryce, was the fact that Carly was not able to secure the Republican nomination. Bryce admitted that it was disheartening to witness his candidate drop out. Although he was given hope in Carly because of her oratory skills, platform, and shrewd professionalism, there is not much to celebrate now. Bryce mentioned, “the ugly [component] for me has been the has been the outcomes and presumptive nominated candidates. It isn’t my ideal result, and the division and animosity this election has spurred has done this country more damage than good.”

Of course, his work and the work of many other similar interns was and is important. Creating a politically-informed and active population ensures that better candidates will arise in the future. This is where Bryce maintained faith. He knew that whether one is a Republican or Democrat, increased involvement from millennials can spur the change necessary to change this country. So next time you hear about a college kid working at some distinguished place, know that a great deal of individual effort and hard work go into something like a campaign what it is on TV. Whether it be through tracking Carly’s every sentence or recording public opinion on college campuses, an internship might sound flashy but there is much more than what reaches the eye.