Meet the 2024 Rutgers-Eagleton Washington Internship Award Recipients

July 15, 2024 – This year, the Rutgers-Eagleton Washington Internship Award provided eight Rutgers University undergraduate students with the support to pursue nonprofit and government internships in Washington, D.C.

The award program, which is administrated by Eagleton’s Center for Youth Political Participation, aims to ease the financial burden of living and working in our nation’s capital. These types of internship experiences are critical to students’ career-readiness upon graduation.

Learn more about the program and how you can support Rutgers student internships in Washington, D.C.

Meet the 2024 Award Recipients

Summer Assaf
Internship Placement: Arab-American Discrimination Committee
Campus: New Brunswick

Summer Assaf is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors College. She is majoring in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies and minoring in Arabic. Summer’s primary interests involve understanding the Palestinian cause and how it has played a key role in Middle Eastern geopolitics over the last century. Over the summer, Summer interned at the Arab-American Discrimination Committee, building a resource guide for educating about Palestinian and Arab-American heritage in K-12 districts and assisted in building new ADC chapters across the country. In the next school year, she will serve as a Resident Assistant, aiming to create safe environments and offer support and resources to freshmen as they adjust to the community. She will also be a 2024-2025 Lloyd C. Gardner Fellow. Summer plans to research Middle Eastern politics for her various research projects and eventual thesis. In her free time, Summer loves to cook, read political theory, and drink chai with her friends at Khyber in New Brunswick.

Brenda Chou
Internship placement: American Security Project
Campus: New Brunswick

Originally from Jericho, New York, Brenda is a rising senior in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) at Rutgers – New Brunswick. She is double-majoring in Political Science and Philosophy, with a minor in Critical Intelligence Studies. Previously, she has been an intelligence unit intern for the U.S. Coast Guard SECNY, a Global Security Operations Center intern for New York University, and a cybersecurity research intern for the National Security Career & Leadership Institute. This summer, Brenda is an intern on the China Policy & Strategic Competition team at the think tank American Security Project (ASP). She is interested in international affairs and looks forward to contributing to ASP by publishing blog posts and assisting in research reports on various topics concerning U.S. national security strategy. Brenda is thrilled at the chance to spend the summer in Washington, D.C. exploring the city and learning more about her field in person.

Santiago Díaz de León Domínguez
Internship placement: Embassy of Spain in the United States
Campus: Newark

Santiago Díaz de León Domínguez graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University—Newark in May 2024 with a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs. Moreover, he is currently pursuing an M.A. in Political Science at Rutgers University and is expected to acquire that academic certification in May 2025. Santiago is a first-generation immigrant, of Mexican and Spanish background, who emigrated to the United States in the hopes of enhancing its educational aspirations. He was a member of the inaugural cohort of the 2023 Rutgers Scarlet Service Initiative (previously known as RSS-DC). Santiago is currently interning at the Embassy of Spain in the United States, where he mainly conducts research on US domestic politics and produces memos and reports about American electoral and political events that are deemed as relevant to both the Spanish diplomatic mission in DC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid (with a special emphasis on this year’s both DC NATO summit and American presidential election). Following this internship, Santiago will finish his Master’s and is expected to pursue a career in government and politics, either in New York City or in Washington, DC.

Pooja Ghadiali
Internship placement: ResearchEd
Campus: Newark

Pooja Ghadiali graduated from Rutgers University-Newark, summa cum laude, with a degree in Political Science and dual minor in Legal Studies and History. Throughout her time on campus at Rutgers-Newark, Pooja has been dedicated to advocating for the student voice by encouraging faculty and staff to support her initiative for Plan B vending machines, anti-vaping campaigns, and working on bringing a polling booth at an accessible distance for students during this next election cycle. Her involvement on campus attributed to her being a recipient of the Bessie Nelms Hill Leadership Award given to a student who is a champion for the student voice. In addition, Pooja has served as an advocate for increasing federal student aid with the Rutgers Advocacy Corps traveling to Washington, D.C. to speak to representatives and their staff. Apart from her involvement on campus, Pooja has served as an intern for multiple political offices, being an intern for a State Senator, a Congressional Office, and finally the Office of the Governor. Her time as an Eagleton Undergraduate Associate afforded her with the knowledge and understandings of the political system with the importance of civic engagement which allowed her to further excel in her tasks as an intern. Transitioning from the political environment as an intern, Pooja currently works for ResearchEd, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. dedicated to assisting institutions through research and further influencing policy making in the education sector. As a devoted public servant, Pooja hopes to become an attorney and then judge in the future.

Hanna Hammoud
Internship placement: Women’s Democratic Caucus
Campus: New Brunswick

Hanna Hammoud graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University–New Brunswick in May 2024 with a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy and a Certificate in Law & History. She was a 2022-2023 Lloyd C. Gardner Fellow, a 2023 Rutgers Scarlet Service in Washington, D.C. inaugural cohort student, a Class of 2024 Eagleton Undergraduate Associate, and a 2024 Henry Rutgers Scholar for her honors Political Science thesis “#1 Trending: Social Media, Free Speech, and Constitutional Law.” This summer, Hanna is interning in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) where she primarily supports member services, conducts legislative research, and drafts written materials. Following her internship, Hanna anticipates continuing her work in D.C. as a Legal Project Assistant at Ankura Consulting Group, LLC. Hanna aims to utilize her experiences in government, politics, and law to pursue a future legal career.

Michael Joseph
Internship placement: Office of Representative of Rudy Yakym (R-IN) & Americans United for Life
Campus: New Brunswick

Michael Joseph is a rising junior at Rutgers University—New Brunswick. He studies Political Science and Labor Studies and is President of the university’s Turning Point USA Chapter and Vice President of the Rutgers College Republicans. He is also involved in student government where he chairs its Free Speech Subcommittee. This summer he is interning at the Congressional Office of Rep. Rudy Yakym III (R-IN), and Americans United for Life.

Willa McBride
Internship placement: Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
Campus: Camden

Willa McBride, a senior at Rutgers University-Camden in the College of Arts & Sciences and Camden Honors College, is majoring in Political Science and double minoring in Legal Studies and Criminal Justice. Raised in Voorhees, New Jersey, she is interning with the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor. Willa is passionate about topics regarding paid leave, gender, and racial equity and looks forward to working on projects relating to these topics. She is excited to spend the summer in the epicenter of American politics to explore how intersectionality influences the workforce, policy, and the pursuit of equity.

Daniela Ovelar
Internship placement: United States Marshalls
Campus: Newark

Daniela Ovelar, born and raised in Somerville, New Jersey, is a first-generation Latina attending Rutgers University-Newark as a rising senior. She is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology and a part of the Honors College. This summer, Daniela is interning with the U.S. Marshals (USMS) at their headquarters in Arlington, Virginia under the Office of Diversity. There, she is completing various projects to improve the agency and strengthen the connection between USMS and several universities. She has also had the opportunity to shadow numerous deputies where she received valuable insight into the responsibilities of their job. Daniela has been able to experience other agencies that Washington, DC has to offer by attending field trips with the Secret Service, FBI, DEA, Interpol, and so much more. Before Rutgers, she attended Raritan Valley Community College where she received her Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice in May of 2023. Daniela has exhibited altruistic behavior by volunteering her time at certain events, food banks, and within her schools. Her dedication to helping her communities has led her to receive the President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award which is granted by the White House indicating a student’s completion of 250+ hours of service. Daniela’s experience comes from interning with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in their Newark field division, the Somerset County Court House in the Family Division, and worked as a Special Law Enforcement Class 1 Officer in Deal. Her ultimate career goal is to become an agent or a deputy for a federal law enforcement agency with aspirations to do more for the community. In essence, she aims to she aims to assist people globally and effect change by apprehending fugitives and safeguarding citizens.