Goldstein Program
in Public Affairs

Amanda Grossman

The Hansard Scholars Internship Program was by far one of the most rewarding experiences of my undergraduate career, and one of the richest experiences of my life. In London I lived in a Flat with five other individuals, and we became each other's family, going back and forth to classes together, traveling on the four day weekends to Scotland, Oxford, Bath and Ireland, and going through the experience of interning in the British Government during a very exciting time. I went to work daily in an increasingly tense, agitated atmosphere while the government of a country tried to decide whether or not to enter war as an ally to the United States, and the citizens of the country organized marches, demonstrations and daily shut downs of schools in order to allow the children to storm the Parliament building to have their voices heard.

Having gone through this experience, I am much more interested and able to apply the knowledge and information received during my International Studies Major to world events. I see the connections between what one government does and how that affects the politics and events within another country. As for my flatmates, we have all ready hosted one reunion in Boston, and plan on attending the wedding ceremony of one together in Indiana this summer.

Pictured above: I used my Parliament Security Pass badge to get behind the scenes of the February 15, 2003 march against the war in Iraq taking place in London with well over one million people in attendance.