For the past twelve years, the LEAP Center has supervised one of SHSU’s highest-profile programs: The Sam Houston Austin Internship Program (SHAIP). The program oversees the recruitment, selection, preparation, and placement of students who work the entire session–while also taking classes and representing SHSU at various events.
The 89th session doesn’t end until June 2, but the light at the end of the tunnel is visible for the students, and some of their hard work was recognized on the House floor in May, when the Speaker recognized the SHAIP students, for performing “their duties with great skill and dedication.” Authored by Representative Armando Martinez and co-authored by other intern supervisors, the Resolution was scheduled for May 20 at 10:00am.
As Representative Martinez read the resolution alongside the ever-supportive (and alum) Representative Metcalf, the seven students stood, acknowledging the applause from the floor and the gallery.
The recognition is a culmination of sorts of a year-long process that plays out over a two-year period. Professor Mike Yawn oversees the LEAP Center, which participates in some 150 programs/activities every year, allowing Yawn, other SHSU staff, and LEAP Ambassadors to assess the interest and professionalism in students from across the University. The spring before legislative session, informational meetings are held, informing students of the outlines of the programs and encouraging students to find flexible housing if they are interested in the program.
In the fall, students submit applications that are reviewed by a committee of five SHSU faculty staff, and SHAIP alumni. Once the committee’s recommendations come in, students are offered the chance to express their interest in interviewing with offices in which they would like to work. Their resumes are then sent to those offices, where staff members select the students they’d like to interview.
Following an extensive round-robin interview process, the interns rank the offices with which they’ve interviewed, and the offices rank the students with whom they met. From there, matches are made, and the process of preparing the students for Austin begins.
This year’s matches were fortuitous, with the students indicating a high level of satisfaction with their placements and earning very high evaluations. Cinthia Villarreal Carillo interned with Representative Armando “Mando” Martinez; Makenna McDaniel interned with Representative Will Metcalf; Sarah Isett interned with the legislative affairs team of the Texas Association of Counties; Guadalupe Centeno interned with Representative Senfronia Thompson; Saara Maknojia interned with Representative Suleman Lalani; Sarah-Hope Parohl interned with Representative J.M. Lozano; and Michelle Cardenas interviewed with Governor Abbott’s Legislative Affairs office, an internship that has been extended through June.
While in Austin, the students are encouraged to explore, learn, and engage, and they have made the most of those opportunities. Most important, though, they have sharpened their skill sets, more fully learned the legislative process, and expanded their professional networks, all while elevating the reputation of Sam Houston State University and earning–as the resolution notes–the “high regard of the Texas House of Representatives.”
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 