139 Abby Davidson IN THE CAPITOL BUILDING Abby Davidson stands with Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville. The connections Davidson made during her internship impacted the jobs she considered for her future. Photo courtesy of Abby Davidson Communication on Junior Abby Davidson completes a communication internship in Washington D.C. In the five weeks that Davidson spent in Washington D.C., many major political events occurred, such as the NATO Summit, President Joe Biden’s step down from the election and the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. “It was crazy to be somewhere so historically significant while so many historically significant events were happening,” Davidson said. Davidson mentioned how the capitol did not shut down during those events as many would have assumed. There was constant chaos and protestors were often outside of all of the buildings, but the work of Congress and the government remained steady. This internship gave Davidson a taste of adulthood that she had not experienced yet. She had to find a place to live, live with people she didn’t know, cook her own meals and budget her money accordingly. She lived with two other interns in Capitol Hill, one from New Jersey and the other from Pennsylvania. Neither of her roommates had ever been to the South, nor could they fathom attending a southern Christian university such as Harding. Davidson was instantly admired for her work on the Hill by her friends and fellow students at Harding. “This is a rare opportunity, and I know she was grateful to be a part of it,” Davidson’s friend junior Molly Chunn said. The importance of knowing what was going on in the world and locally became apparent during her internship. Awareness only goes so far, so Davidson also advocated for young people, especially women, to get involved in politics. “I think it’s important that people get involved,” Davidson said. “Young people need to be involved in politics.” Although Davidson’s goal used to be working in human resources, she widened her scope to include local or state government career paths after her internship. Written by Randi Tubbs Junior Abby Davidson fulfilled her communication studies internship requirement on Capitol Hill from June 17 to July 19. When Davidson was in eighth grade, she interviewed her county commissioner in Mobile, Alabama. That county commissioner was later elected as Davidson’s local House representative. Because of the contact she made with him years ago, she applied to intern with him in Washington D.C. for five weeks. Davidson’s internship consisted of answering phone calls for the congressman, writing memos, attending hearings and committee meetings, leading tours of the building and more. During her time working on Capitol Hill, she saw numerous members of the political scene, including Ben Shapiro and Bernie Sanders. Professor of communication Dr. Laurie Diles was Davidson’s adviser and a strong encourager of her ventures, as well as an advocate for communication-related internships. “These types of internships give students an on-theground perspective of the types of jobs they might hold when they get out of school,” Diles said. “Often they include the learning of new skills that complement those they are getting while they are in school. Internships also give students a network of people who can help them connect to the positions after college, whether it is directly through their internship organization or perhaps people they met tangentially during the internship.” Capitol Hill
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