NEWS
OPPORTUNIT Y
G R OW T H SUPPORT A
llison Kustic ’21, a political science major in the School of Liberal Arts and Education, was nominated by Dominican University of California and selected as a participant in the 2020 Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program. In a normal year, she would have attended the institute’s two-week orientation in Monterey and spent three months interning in a U.S. House of Representatives office in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, the D.C. portion of the internship was canceled due to COVID-19. However, Allison learned from public servants, academics and policy experts in several fields during the two-week remote orientation program. Following this abbreviated program, Allison wrote a 20-page policy paper on a topic of her choosing. Allison recently talked with Domincan’s Communications and Media Relations office about her Dominican Experience, which included interning with Sen. Kamala Harris, working with the Marin County Board of Supervisors, studying abroad in London, and serving as president of the Dominican Political Science Association. And how, along the way, she has been supported and inspired by her faculty mentors. Politics has been central to your experience at Dominican. What are some of your more memorable moments both as an intern and as a student? I joined the debate team my first year because it was the first opportunity I was presented to get involved on campus. I have learned so much about public speaking, thinking on my feet, being a teammate, and crafting creative arguments. I’ve met
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some incredible people and been on fun adventures in the process. I also had the opportunity to study abroad in London, which created memories I will hold onto for a lifetime. I learned about new cultures, adjusted to a new way of life and learning, and explored the world. I also will always cherish the small moments at Dominican: sitting with friends in the Gazebo, fellowship after Sunday night masses, sharing my love for DU as a student ambassador, and too many game nights in Edgehill Mansion with friends to count. I bombed an interview for an internship in the Governor’s office after my first year, but I learned from the experience and landed an internship in the Sacramento district office of Sen. Kamala Harris the summer after my second year. In the spring of my junior year, I interned with the Marin County Board of Supervisors, where my main focus was organizing grassroots social media messaging for the 2020 Census with more than 150 community partners. I enjoyed both internships and learned different things in each. I learned what sorts of issues Californians care about, as well as the intricacies of the legislative process and federal casework in Harris’ office. At the Marin County Board of Supervisors, I loved how hands-on my work was, and I felt like I was really making an impact in my local community. When we were still going into the office at the beginning of my internship, my supervisor and I met with a community member and traffic planner about a dangerous blind curve. By the end of my time there, safety measures had been put in place to protect pedestrians.
When did you first develop an interest in politics, and why? I grew up in Sacramento and have been surrounded by state government all my life, and I’ve always strived to stay abreast of the news. I think I knew I wanted to study political science my senior year of high school, while participating in a mock state legislature and court program called Youth and Government through the YMCA. Nearly 4,000 high school students from across the state participate in the program every year. I had the opportunity to write a bill, lobby, perform legislative analyst work and speak on the California State Senate floor. Through that program, I learned about the deliberateness of the legislative process, and I was hooked. I find politics engaging, but what really interests me is public service. I see politics as the arena in which we sort out who is most qualified to represent others and serve their communities through government. So, while many people find politics exhausting and frustrating, I see it as an opportunity to create lasting change for the problems we face. Tell us about your faculty mentors? How have they supported you? When people ask if I like going to such a small school, I say yes, because the community is tight-knit. My professors know me by my first name, even if I’ve only had one class with them — professors at Dominican care about me as an individual.
