A Big Thank You: 2005 NRLC Interns Complete a Productive and Instructive Summer.

Among the college students heading back to campus across the country, a special group of 13 highly motivated and dedicated pro-life students will be with them. Throughout much of the summer, National Right to Life's office was filled with an exceptional class of students who worked alongside us as summer interns.

Since the 1980s, NRL's Summer Internship Program has recruited some of the best and brightest pro-life campus leaders to Washington, D.C., to serve the movement and learn firsthand how pro-life education, legislation, and political action are saving lives and changing our culture. All interns share a respect for life and have demonstrated their dedication to restoring the right to life to the most vulnerable members of our society, though their reasons for seeking the internship vary.

Kristin Collins, a junior at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, explained, "I wanted to do an internship where I could make a real difference and care about what I was doing. I knew that if I wanted to work for a pro-life organization, NRLC was the place to be because of its integrity, its effectiveness, and its attitude." Thinking about post-graduation, Stephen Braunlich, a senior at the College of William & Mary, noted, "Internships can be a springboard to careers."

The work of the interns varied depending on the assigned department. It ran the gamut from folding brochures to producing original research. Whatever it was, the work was valuable to the interns and much appreciated by National Right to Life.

Interning in the nation's capital affords interns opportunities unlikely to be available elsewhere. For instance, in the words of Catholic University of America student Larisa Abel,

One of the coolest things that happened all summer was getting to meet Senator John Thune of South Dakota. As I work in the Outreach Department, I don't expect to get outside of the office and do tons of cool things on Capitol Hill or go listen to fascinating speakers around the district. Somewhere in the middle of the summer, my supervisor got word that we could go to see Senator Thune speak around the lunch hour, so my department went over to hear the senator speak on how his faith influences his work. It was amazing, really, not only because he's an amazing person, but because last summer during my internship with NRLC, I had followed his campaign very closely and was overjoyed at his election. We got to meet him after his speech.

Along with a full day's work for their respective departments, interns also attended a seminar one evening each week given by different members of the staff in order to get a well-rounded understanding of the movement. Additionally, all summer interns left as members of the National Association of Parliamentarians. Each was fortunate to be able to attend an intensive seminar and take an exam on Roberts' Rules of Order given by National Right to Life's resident ...