The Continental - Hamilton College

featurescapital cityone of the common complaintsyou will hear from students onthe Hill is that we are too isolatedfrom the real world in the “bubble”of Clinton, New York. But forover three decades, Hamilton hasoffered students the opportunityto spend a semester experiencingpost-graduation life off the Hill inthe nation’s capital.For some students, the Washington, D.C. program is a majordraw before they even arrive at Hamilton. Matt House ’08 says, “I firstlearned about the D.C. program as a prospective student. I was fairlysure I would be a government major at Hamilton, and it was one ofthe school’s draws for me.” Blake Hulnick ’09 was also consideringthe program as a prospective student. He explains, “I had heard greatreviews from program alumni, some of whom are my parents’ age sincethe program has been around for a long time.”During the program, students spend“It’s an experiencethat you can drawupon for the rest ofyour life, no matterwhat career fieldyou go into.”four days a week as full-time interns forpoliticians or government agencies and oneday a week in an academic seminar with aHamilton professor who relocates to D.C.Despite the busy schedule, students are leftwith free time and no shortage of ways tospend it. Hulnick has “seen almost all of theSmithsonians several times—includingthe Postal Museum, though it is a goodcure for insomnia.”Through the program, students alsohave incomparable opportunities to formconnections that will benefit them after graduation. House assertsthat his first post-graduation job came as a result of living in D.C. for asemester. “In addition to interning for my future employer,” he says, “Imet [Capitol] Hill staffers who have moved on to other political workin all parts of the country.”However, the enticing sample of independent life in Washington,D.C. is first and foremost for the students in the program. Studentsspend a semester seeing how it will feel to live in an apartment, ratherthan a dorm, and balance free time with a full-time job. Jordan Hummel’09 explains that “living in an apartment, working four days a week andbalancing school—it’s a slight taste of the real world...It’s an experiencethat you can draw upon for the rest of your life, no matter what careerfield you go into.”-celia coan ’09the continental | spring 2008 31