Congratulations!

Congratulations to the 39th Class of The Harrisburg Internship Semester!

Recognition Luncheon

The interns and their sponsors were honored at a Recognition Luncheon on the final day of the internship. Family, friends, and special guests were in attendance. Each intern gave thanks to the people who supported them during the semester. Special thanks were given to Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculties (APSCUF), and Dr. Geiser-Getz.

Week 15 Seminar

Mr. David John Assistant Director of the Joint State Government Commission spoke at this week's seminar. The Joint State Government Commission serves as the bipartisan and bicameral research agency of the General Assembly. The Commission is responsible for research conducted by task forces and advisory committees. Examples of recent task force committees that have been formed are one to study the distribution of methadone and another to study wrongful convictions. Status reports on task force and advisory committees can be viewed here.
Mr. David John has worked in state government for many years. He shared his perspective on the changes that have occurred over time. He feels that the focus of policymakers has changed dramatically. Mr. John also shared advice on working in state government.

Week 14 Seminar

This week the interns had an informative discussion with Mr. Nathan Benefield. Mr. Nathan Benefield is the Director of Policy Research at the Commonwealth Foundation. He has researched and written on public policy issues. The issues he has researched include government spending, education reform, and economic development. He writes a blog and also uses Twitter as means of communication. Mr. Benefield graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois with a degree in political science and economics. He also earned a Master’s degree in public service management from DePaul.

Mr. Benefield offered advice to the interns. He stated that three attributes he looks for when interviewing are research skills, writing skills, and passion.

The Commonwealth Foundation is an independent, non-profit research and educational institute. They develop and advance public policies based on the nation’s founding principles of limited constitutional government, economic freedom, and personal responsibility for one’s actions.

Week 13 Seminar

Mr. Guy Jensen, Deputy Executive Director for the Legislative Office of Research Liaison (LORL), spoke with the interns at this week's seminar. Mr. Jensen was an intern at LORL in 1987. He acted as an intern while attending The Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Jensen was hired as a full-time Research Analyst two years later. As Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Jensen is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of LORL's Legislative Inquiry Service.

LORL is a nonpartisan research agency. They provide access to many of the state’s institutions of higher education and their faculties’ expertise. LORL was created in 1976 to be the General Assembly’s science and technology staff. The personnel at LORL respond to specific inquiries from people in the legislative branch. They have provided information on topics such as taxation, health policy, and education

Interview Day for Spring 2010 Interns

The Spring 2010 interns will be the 40th class to experience The Harrisburg Internship Semester. The new interns came to Harrisburg for interview day on Friday. During the morning, the interns were able to hear advice about the experience from the current interns. The new interns were told to relax and enjoy the day. They were offered advice on housing, networking, and interviewing. Each intern was then escorted around Harrisburg to their three interviews by a current THIS intern during the afternoon. The new interns will learn where they have been placed in the upcoming week.

Week 12 Seminar

At this week's seminar Assistant Director of Dixon University Center's Human Resources Department Janice Groff shared interview tips with the interns. Mrs. Groff offered advice on a variety of topics. Topics that were covered included: proper attire, typical interview questions, handshake types, and resume formatting. This advice was offered to prepare the current interns for mock interviews. In addition, the interns have been preparing for the upcoming Interview Day for the Spring 2010 THIS Interns.

PAR Conference held at Hilton

Pennsylvania Association of Resources for People with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities (PAR) held its annual conference November 17, 18, and 19 at the Harrisburg Hilton. The conference was entitled Stewardship in Action this year. At the conference attendees found:
- solutions and practical information that could be taken home to use;
- opportunities to communicate with state officials, PAR members and other experts;
- forums focused on community-based services and supports;
- interactive sessions on the initiatives and policy direction of the Office of Developmental Programs in the Department of Public Welfare (ODP/DPW), workforce development, expansion of community options, regulatory requirements and interpretations, leadership, research, promising practices, lobbying and advocacy, legal requirements, consumer and provider rights, and numerous other timely issues.

Stephanie Becker is the current THIS intern at PAR. She was integral to the organization of the conference. She helped write press releases and session summaries. Stephanie is a student of Edinboro University. Many current THIS interns served as room monitors during the conference.

Honoring SPC Ross McGinnis

A special ceremony for SPC Ross McGinnis was held in Harrisburg on November 9, 2009. SPC McGinnis' army decorations include the following: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and Combat Infantryman Badge. The ceremony marked the unveiling of a memorial stone placed in Soldier and Sailors Grove in his honor. State Representative Donna Oberlander was the Master of Ceremony for the event. In attendence were his parents, members of the Armed Forces, Mary Jo White and other members of the State House of Represenatives and Senate, among other special guests. For more information on SPC McGinnis visit the Army's Medal of Honor feature site.




The event was organized by THIS intern, Jessica Cosme. Jessica is a student of Slippery Rock University. She is an intern in the Office of the Speaker of the House.

Week 10 Seminar

Jonathan Johnson Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Rural Pennsylvania spoke at this week's seminar. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania serves as a resource for rural policy within the general assembly. During the presentation, Mr. Johnson presented five little known facts about rural Pennsylvania. They were the following:
1. There is a rural PA
2. There are two rural PAs (east and west)
3. Rural is different than Urban
4. Rural does not equal agriculture
5. Rural residents like living in rural areas

Mr. Johnson also gave a "pop quiz" on facts about rural Pennsylvania. Through this quiz, the interns learned more facts about rural Pennsylvania. The following are some examples:
1. Two counties in PA have more cows than people. The counties are Bradford and Fulton.
2. The sun rose in Philadelphia at 6:32 AM. It rose at 6:56 AM in Erie, a difference of 24 minutes.
3. In rural Pennsylvania there are more nursing home beds than hospital beds (27,000 and 7,900 respectively).

THIS Interns meet Governor Rendell

On Wednesday, the THIS interns were fortunate enough to meet with Governor Ed Rendell. We introduced ourselves and had a brief discussion with him. He thanked us for interning, saying it was especially helpful to have extra workers with the budget cuts. Governor Rendell called the cuts cost saving. One of his goals as Governor was to trim wasteful spending and increase governmental efficiency. (He cut $1.75 billion out of the cost of government operations.) The interns were grateful to have the opportunity to meet Governor Rendell.

Week 9 Seminar

This week Mr. John Guyer spoke at our seminar. Mr. Guyer is the Director of the Bureau of Budget Analysis within the Governor’s Office of the Budget. Mr. Guyer is responsible for directing the development and administration of the Commonwealth’s operating budget. He also reviews fiscal policy and legislative issues to make funding recommendations. Monitoring program performance and the alignment of spending plans with agency goals is also one of his duties.
During the discussion Mr. Guyer reviewed the budget process. Mr. Guyer discussed the timeline of the process. As soon as a budget is passed for any fiscal year, agencies begin looking at their own budgets. The Office of the Budget gives agencies guidelines to help them make decisions on the funds that they will request. These guidelines include projections of the economy. What made this latest budget impasse so hard was the fact that the projections underestimated how hard Pennsylvania would be hit by the declining economy. Mr. Guyer helped us to understand the budget process.

*In the photo, Mr. Guyer (left) is speaking with Dr. Geiser-Getz

Arepa City

On Thursday night some of the interns met at Arepa City for a group night dinner. One of the interns highly recommended the Latin Eatery and said it serves the best authentic Venezuelan cuisine in Harrisburg. By the end of the night all of the interns agreed. The Tostone (fried grean plantains) appetizer and the Miliciosa Arepa (roasted pork shoulder, grilled queso fresco and sliced avocado) seemed to be the favorite among the interns.

*Pictured is the Carne Mechada Arepa. It consists of shredded flank steak and cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes. Yum!

Week 8 Seminar

Dr. Peter Garland, Executive Vice Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), joined us for our Week 8 seminar. He has been in this position since October 2006. His duties include overseeing the major functional areas in the Office of the Chancellor; serving as liaison to university presidents and the System's Board of Governors; leading major System-wide projects, programs and initiatives; and coordinating the work of vice chancellors and other executive staff. The discussion highlighted the importance of study abroad for people within all academic majors. Dr. Garland also told us that he uses his undergraduate work the most in his day-to-day job activities. (He earned bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology from The College of William and Mary, as well as other degrees later on.)
*The photo is Dr. Peter Garland's portrait from the PASSHE website.

Week 7 Seminar

In lieu of our weekly seminar, we were invited to a Recognition Reception at the APSCUF Headaquarters in Harrisburg. As interns, we invited our sponors to attend the reception. Dr. Steve Hicks, President of APSCUF, and Dr. John Cavanaugh, Chancellor of PASSHE, were also present. The Reception was a nice way for the interns to express their appreciation to their sponsors, Dr. Geiser-Getz, APSCUF, and PASSHE for their support of the internship program.

*The photo is of the Fall 2009 THIS Interns on the staircase of the beautiful APSCUF office building on Front Street in Harrisburg.

PA has a Budget

101 days into the 09-10 fiscal year, Pennsylvania finally got a budget. The commonwealth was the last state in the country to pass their budget. On October 9, 2009 Governor Rendell signed legislation to enact a $27.799 billion state General Fund budget for 2009-10 that increases education funding while reducing overall spending. It contains no new broad-based taxes. We can finally close the books on the long, uphill battle that was the 2009 budget impasse.

Visit the following links for more information on the budget from the media:

Pennsylvania, we finally have a budget
100 reasons it has lasted 100 days
Let's make sure budget impasse never happens in Pennsylvania again
Layoffs, uncertainty are impacting state employee morale

Week 6 Seminar

Dr. Duane Milne State Representative of the 167th district spoke at our Week 6 seminar. He is in his second term of service and full of enthusiasm. Dr. Milne has always wanted to work in public service. He found his ideal job in being a Representative. He offered us an in-depth understanding on the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In addition, Dr. Milne explained the five areas that he draws from in making decisions. They include:
1. Personal Beliefs
2. Opinions of the citizens of his district
3. Party affiliation
4. Party leaders within the House
5. Interest groups.
He explained that for any given decision the weight of each of these areas changes. Dr. Milne also gave us advice on learning from internships and deciding on career paths.

Below Representative Milne can be seen while on the House floor in July 2009 expressing his concerns over House Bill 1416 and its effects on higher education.

Breast Cancer Awareness at Capitol

The fountain at the Harrisburg Capitol Complex has turned pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each day in October a gallon of red dye is added to the fountain's water. The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition hosts a Breast Cancer Awareness Month Kick-Off Ceremony and an annual conference in Harrisburg. For more information about the coalition, visit their site.

Altemare Organizes Art Exhibition

In concordance with National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), THIS intern Ashley Altemare organized an art exhibition to be put on display in the Harrisburg Capitol Building during the month of October. The purpose of NDEAM is to increase the public's awareness of the contributions and skills of American workers with disabilities. Artists with disabilties whose work is featured include Charles Domsky and Linda Fry Goschke. More information about the exhibit can be found in this News Release. Also, for more information on the artists and their work view the Reverberation Information Booklet.

Ashley is a student of California University. She is an intern in the Office of the Speaker of the House.

*The photo is of a few pieces of art showcased in the exhibition.

Reapsome attends dinner, hears Rice speak

Current THIS intern, Lacey Reapsome attended the 25th Annual Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry dinner in Hershey on September 29, 2009. (To visit the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry's site click here.) The keynote speaker for this event was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Reapsome said that the Secretary of State focused on promoting the United States as a leader in the world, especially during these hard economic times. Reapsome noted that Rice said that if the United States cannot be optimistic during these hard times, then what country will be? During the speech, Rice made the valid point that with the free market in our country, we are in a better position to recover and get back on track after this slump in the economy. Reapsome liked that Rice talked about her perspective as a federal working during and after the attacks on 9/11.

Lacey Reapsome is a student of Shippensburg University. She is an intern at the Governor's Office of the Budget.

*The photo is of Lacey Reapsome and Condoleezza Rice at the dinner.