What Credentials Are Required of a White House Intern?

As soon as summer vacation hits, many American youngsters look for a job. In one respect, it gives a little something extra to subsidize household expenses — spending money, if you will — and in another respect, it helps them accumulate some work experience, a springboard which they can use to find a job in the future.

As far as what kind of work or where to take up an internship is concerned, by and large Americans don’t discriminate between the low or high, the auspicious or the humble, but if there’s a better internship to be found, who wouldn’t want it? Take, for instance, an internship at the White House.

Even the mere mention of White House interns probably brings to mind a certain intern named Monica Lewinsky. She is, in all likelihood, the most famous of all White House interns in recent memory.

Not even that scandal could extinguish young American students’ enthusiasm for the White House. After all, at the White House, interns can meet high-ranking officials or even the president and, moreover, have an opportunity to gain insight into the inner workings of the government itself. It’s certainly much better than any other place one could possibly work, and it would serve to create a solid foundation for their future development.

And so, at vacation time Washington will be flooded with innumerable throngs of students coming to look for every possible opportunity to get into an internship position at the White House. Their duties and jobs descriptions will be different, with various lengths of service, yet all with the same title: “White House Intern.”

People have always been curious about the conditions required to become a White House Intern. What exactly is needed to be one of them?

The Requirements of a White House Intern

Of course there are terms and conditions involved in being a White House Intern. Firstly, applicants must meet the following stipulations.

1. Be at least 18 years of age.

2. Be a U.S. citizen.

3. Must meet one of the following three criteria: Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a college, community college or university (two-to-four year institution); graduated from an undergraduate or graduate program at a college, community college or university (two-to-four year institution) no more than two years before the first day of the internship; veteran of the United States Armed Forces who possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent and has served on active duty, for any length of time, in the two years preceding the first day of the internship.

As long as at one meets the requirements, then he or she is eligible to apply.

Of course, with so many people applying for a White House internship position and a limited number of positions to go around, only the cream of the crop are selected.

In spite of the fact that some interns are “nonpartisan,” an applicant’s political leaning is a major factor in whether or not they will make the cut. Therefore, they must indicate whether they are registered voters and whether or not they are planning on voting in the upcoming election, as well as their voting place, party affiliation, etc.

At the end of the day, registrars’ academic achievements, political views, writing ability and individual potential are major factors that play a part in whether or not they can become White House interns.

The Registration Process

White House interns are divided into spring, summer and autumn classes. The White House will hold an open house event for the following years’ interns in May, November and January of every year. All registrations must be completed online.

Registrars are asked a series of questions online and write brief statements on a series of topics that are raised.

A one-page resume of personal information should be submitted, including: telephone, higher education, major, expected date of gradation, work experience, hobbies and interests, community service experience, email address, home address, etc. Afterward, registrants should submit three letters of recommendation.

White House internship positions are extremely competitive. Throughout the entire registration process, graduates of big-name universities are plentiful, and each is trying to outdo the other.

According to stipulations, White House interns must work five days per week, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, or at least work for four and a half days per week. The White House staff has gone on record saying, “Only interns who work for at least four and a half days per week can be counted as full-time workers. If students request it, the White house may allow them to work a half day one day per week.”

A White House Intern’s Daily Duties Include Sending Correspondence on Behalf of the President

At the outset, some of the duties of White House interns range from pouring tea and coffee, receiving guests, making copies, printing documents and other such trivialities, and may even include walking the White House dog.

After familiarizing themselves with their duties, White House interns will be grouped together, each with unique sets of duties in accordance with their performance. Those who are swift hands at writing may be assigned to compose drafts or to record memoirs. Those who are skilled at socializing may more often be assigned to assist with various kinds of events, and of course there will be those assigned to research meetings, fiscal management meetings and conferences.

However, interns by and large believe that “in the White House, no job is too small.” Noted former White House intern Sanjay Gupta once stated, “The first lady may very well call you into her office to help her investigate a project she’s working on. At that moment you might become an indispensable adviser who can transform an important plan.”

Besides this, the interns can go to any White House lectures or tours to perform volunteer services as well as community service projects.

Cabinet meetings, the media center, the national economics committee, the first lady’s office and the vice president’s office are just of few of the places and departments where the interns can be seen coming and going.

In the eyes of Nicole Pasteur, a veteran White House intern who served during the fall of 2011 and was assigned to the White House’s Office of Presidential Correspondence, the job of sifting through the president’s mail is not only not dull, but in fact extremely important.

“As you navigate the White House website, the ‘Contact Us’ button never leaves the upper right-hand corner of the screen. The button encourages and invites Americans to email, write and call the White House,” remarked Pasteur. She explains that every week, 10 letters from actual voters are selected from among the letters, emails and faxes received, delivered straight to the Oval Office and placed right on Obama’s desk.

Anthony Weiner, who recently made a comeback into political circles in the recent New York City mayoral election after having left politics due to a “sexting” scandal, and whose wife, Huma Abedin, was once Hillary Clinton’s aide and is a very politically savvy woman, was once a White House intern.

Internships Are Unpaid and Require Paying out of Pocket

The U.S. government is as always an old miser; its miserly ways are particularly self-evident in the case of White House interns, as they do not earn a cent for their work. Beyond that, accommodations are not provided and they are required to work from at least 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Friday — an average of 45 hours per week, per intern. It’s been reported that “free interns” actually save the U.S. government $500,000.

The value of such an unsalaried position, one in which the intern works for nothing, is quite practical: a student borrows thousands of dollars from his or her parents for the internship; someone else quits their job and uses two years’ worth of pension funds for their internship.

Judging by Washington’s present consumption levels, just to work at the White House, these interns’ expenses for things like housing, transportation and miscellaneous living expenses could be anywhere from $4,000 to $9,000.

Young Americans have expressed that the exorbitant cost of an internship in the White House is something that many cannot afford. A large segment (of interns) must rely on part-time work, money borrowed from parents or scholarly grants in order to shoulder the financial burden. Many worry that such a valuable beginning to one’s career will become too exorbitant an option to justify.

For this reason, some organizations are still putting out the call for President Obama to set an example and pay his interns.

Compensation More Valuable than Money

Although the White House interns have no income and actually have to go into the red, wave upon wave of young Americans still arrive at the White House door competing for positions. After all, the opportunity to be a White House intern is difficult to put a price on.

Besides, everyone is quite clear on one thing: The experience is extremely beneficial to young people. An intern once stated, “After coming back from the White House, it’s kind of like you’re ‘gilded,’ everyone treats you with respect.”

Former interns unanimously believe that after the White House internship experience, the direct result is professional work experience and the skills learned from the time at the White House are very useful in their future work endeavors.

A former intern once expressed, “The internship completely changed my life. It had a direct impact on my subsequent career. If I hadn’t gone to the White House for the internship, I can say with 100 percent certainty that I would not have had the opportunities that came after it.”

It’s definitely more valuable than money, and the longest lasting reward there is.

*Editor’s note: All quotations, accurately translate, could not be verified.