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Beyond AU

Nora Winckler '25: Intern at Sen. Mike Rounds’ Washington, D.C. office as part of the Lutheran College Washington Semester (LCWS) Program and intern as a junior fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington, D.C.

Roles/duties: Assist constituents, assist in policy writing for various U.S. Senate committees, conduct research on citizen engagement in democracy

“One of the biggest lessons I learned at the McCain Institute was about the involvement of the American people as well as state and local governments. Strengthening democracy is not an individual effort — it’s not even a federally-focused effort. Democracy needs the participation of all people to thrive and my time at the McCain Institute demonstrated how impactful change can be if geared towards local communities and personalized interactions. My work with Sen. Rounds gave me the opportunity to develop my policy writing, connect with South Dakota constituents and even hone my graphic design skills by creating visual aids to be used in Veterans’ Affairs and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees.”

Winckler's advice to rising majors: “Don’t feel as though you need to know everything about government to be an intern — your job is to learn and gain experience. As long as you have a strong work ethic and a desire to learn, you’ll do just fine!”