Rocky’s first-year fellows watch DC’s “Magic.”

When first-year Rockefeller Center for Public Policy fellows talk about their week-long civics skills training in Washington, D.C., the CNN studio tops many highlight lists.

“We got to see Jake Tapper’s studio and the ‘magic wall’ where the election results come in on election night,” says Will Nelson ’27, a first-year fellow who is interning this summer with Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee. “After watching so much election night on CNN, Dartmouth gave me the opportunity to experience such an important place up close.”

“They pulled it out and plugged it in for us,” says Margaret de la Fuente ’27, an intern at the Department of Education. “You can pick any recent election. So we looked at 2020. We also looked at the 2022 midterms, and we could zoom in on our districts and see the vote count, which was really cool.”

Tapper ’91, a CNN anchor and Dartmouth trustee, is one of many alumni in Washington who are mentoring, mentoring and providing internships for participants in the Rockefeller Center Freshman Fellowship Program.

Rep. Annie Kuster ’78, DN.H., meets with first-year scholarship students on the steps of the Capitol. (Photo: Bob Coates)

The program provides civics training sessions in the spring semester and a week of training in D.C. before placing fellows in summer internships with members of Congress, federal agencies and the private sector. This year, 20 first-year students were selected for the program.

“The week in DC provided Rockefeller Center students with an incredible opportunity, including: to visit distinguished alumni at the Department of Justice, Google, CNN, numerous U.S. Senate offices, numerous U.S. House of Representatives offices, the Congressional Budget Office, Penta Group and the Court of Federal Claims, and even to visit the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park” — says Herschel Nachlis, deputy director and senior research fellow at Rockefeller Center and faculty director of the First-Year Fellows Program.

One of the highlights of Citizenship Training Week is Capitol Hill Day, during which fellows meet face-to-face with lawmakers, many of whom are Dartmouth graduates, in their offices and tour the halls of the House and Senate.

“Another highlight for me was Capitol Day, when we had the opportunity to meet with several alumni who are now serving in Congress,” de la Fuente says. “We met with Rep. Alex Mooney ’93, R.W.V., and the staff in the office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88, D.N.Y., as well as Rep. Annie Kuster ’78, D.N.H., right on the Capitol steps.”

In addition to Mooney, Gillibrand and Kuster, some of the fellows had the opportunity to meet with Rep. Thomas Kean ’90, RN.J. and Rep. Sean Casten, Thayer ’98, D-Ill.

Other trips included visits to the Congressional Budget Office, the Court of Federal Claims and the Department of Justice.

“When we toured the Justice Department,” Nelson says, “I was particularly struck by how each lawyer described a life of public service rather than taking the most lucrative jobs. They told us to do what we felt was right—even if it wasn’t easy. After the tour, I felt even more empowered to go to law school after Dartmouth and try to defend the ‘common man.’”

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They told us to do what we thought was right – even if it wasn’t easy.

Attribution

Will Nelson ’27, Rockefeller Center First-Year Scholar

The week of civics training, which drew on the experience of Taylor Pichette, a Rockefeller Center program officer who lived and worked in the nation’s capital for more than a decade before moving to Dartmouth, also included classes in the National Press Club space. Classes focused on topics such as professional communication, political entrepreneurship and D.C. networking, often led by recent Dartmouth graduates who work in Washington. The week concluded with a reception attended by dozens of graduates, some just starting their careers and others who have risen to the top of public policy and private-sector service for decades. The event was organized by Penta Group, a Washington-based business, policy and communications consulting group led by Matt McDonald ’00.

“That our alumni are coming together in such force to mentor and mentor the next generation of political leaders and welcome them to Washington is a testament to how dedicated and incredible Rockefeller Center and Dartmouth alumni are,” says Nachlis. “We look forward to building on that foundation as we expand Rockefeller and Dartmouth’s presence in our nation’s capital for years to come.”