Meet Penn Hill Group’s Fall interns, Ryan Boatright and Sunanda Sundaram. Ryan is a Senior at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), majoring in Political Science with a minor in Legal Reasoning. Sunanda is currently a Senior at American University, where she is pursuing a dual degree in Political Science and Philosophy. Learn a little bit about each of them below!

Ryan Boatright

Why did you decide to spend a semester in DC?

I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work across the Federal, State, and local levels of government in El Paso, Texas. Through these experiences, I developed a true love and passion for public policy and service. When the opportunity presented itself to spend a semester living, interning and studying in DC, I knew that I had to take it. I wanted to spend a semester in DC because I believe there is no better place to develop as a young professional wanting to build a career in public service.

What do you hope to do or learn during this internship?

My goal while interning with Penn Hill is to learn the strategies that effective advocates use to achieve change in DC. They say that there are two things you never want to see being made: sausage and laws. Although I am not interested in how sausage is made, I want to understand more deeply how laws come together through advocacy, legislation and implementation. Policy impacts every area of our lives, and I want to use my semester with Penn Hill to learn from experts how to be an effective advocate for change.

What interests you most about education?

Pursuing higher education has truly changed my life. I did not think that I would attend college initially, and after graduating from high school I spent a year helping install commercial HVAC units. During that year, I decided to go to college and since then have had the opportunity to work in higher education and workforce policy. I served as Student Body President at UTEP and Chair of the University of Texas System Student Advisory Council, where I represented over 270,000 students before the Board of Regents. Through these experiences, I gained a love for higher education and saw firsthand how education can transform a student’s life for the better. This also confirmed to me that I wanted to gain more experience working at the Federal level on education and workforce policy.

What are some of your future goals?

My most immediate goal is to finish my last semester of college on a strong note and graduate this upcoming May. After graduating, I plan to take a gap year to apply to law school and gain more job experience. My long-term goal is to continue working in public service and build a career where I can wake up every day knowing that I am making a positive impact on the people around me. 

Sunanda Sundaram

Why did you decide to spend a semester in DC?

As a student at American University, I live right in DC, so I am extremely lucky to have access to policy professionals and internships throughout the year. Having previously interned for the U.S. House of Representatives and Bipartisan Policy Center Action among others, I knew I had an interest in policy advocacy, specifically within the lobbying sector. My interest in childcare, education and workforce policy made Penn Hill the natural next step for me to dive specifically into these policy areas and learn hands-on how strategic policy decisions are made.

What do you hope to do or learn during this internship?

Over the course of this internship, I hope to hone in my interest and knowledge in specific areas of education policy. While I’ve previously been exposed to a range of education and workforce issues broadly, Penn Hill is unique in its almost singular focus on education issues. With a developing interest in K-12 and special education, I hope to be able to dive into client work related to these topics and further understand these policy landscapes. In addition, I hope to learn more about the process and outcomes of strategizing to obtain specific organizational or Federal outcomes.

What interests you most about education?

Education is deeply important to me, both philosophically and as a material pathway to socio-economic mobility. I strongly believe that education is a transformative and essential part of interacting with society and democracy, as well as for individual well-being and development. Education has a role to play in everyone’s lives, opening up material and intellectual opportunities; the expansive nature of what can be defined as education also makes it widely relevant. Finally, education is so meaningful to me personally because of the countless educators I have had who have so uniquely impacted my life and shaped the person I’ve become. 

What are some of your future goals?