Through our partnership with Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, we are proud to host two Macalester students as policy interns for the 2024-2025 school year! Our partnership is aimed to provide students a hands-on experience and understanding of how a nonprofit organization can impact public policy in the state of Minnesota. “We’re thrilled to partner with Citizens League, creating invaluable internship experiences for our students,” said Kerri Roesner, Director of Employer Engagement Career Exploration an Macalester College. “This experience will not only enhance their civic leadership skills but also empower them to make a meaningful impact in our communities.”
Interns Putrimolia (Putri) Cahyudi and Phil Reitz-Jones joined us in October and will assist us with our policy work, development, and communications efforts through Spring 2025.
Learn a bit more about Putri and Phil, below!
Putri is a senior double majoring in Political Science and International Studies. As a Capitol Pathways alum, she worked with host organization NAMI Minnesota as part of the 2024 cohort. She has a breadth of policy experience, but most recently was a Chuck Green Fellow over the summer working with WISE (Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment). She is also an International Student Mentor on campus.
“It was an honor to be a part of the [Capitol Pathways] cohort with other amazing people whom I learned a lot from as well,” Putri said. “I find it important for policymaking and engaging in legislation to be accessible to those who are most affected by it, and this includes numerous communities around the state. I think that bridging this gap occuring between the community and the Capitol is key to policymaking, and I think Citizens League does an amazing job addressing this issue and being a part of breaking these barriers.”
Putri joins the League with an interest in contributing to the different projects that the League takes on throughout the year, specifically our Strengthening Public Serivce project, launched earlier this year, which explores the unique challenges and barriers to public service.
“Aside from projects, I am excited to gain more professional skills such as networking, writing, and communications,” said Putri. “I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to learn and grow through this internship!”
Phil is a senior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Psychology and Computer Science. Some of Phil’s recent notable projects include the development of an app to help those with ADHD manage tasks, as well as a robust paper on political psychology as it pertains to the gay and trans rights movements in the U.S.
Phil was drawn to the Citizens League mission of cultivating civic engagement through our events series like Mind Opener and Interconnected. “Being able to both make a difference in the community and make longer-term change working on research projects seemed like such a valuable opportunity,” Phil said, “The League’s small size and commitment to interns’ participation in substantive work also caught my eye. I wanted to apply and refine my skills in a meaningful way, and this was the best opportunity available to me that would afford that.”
Phil is hoping his internship experience compliments his academic experience in political science thus far. “Political psychology is top among my academic interests, especially in how people with different political viewpoints speak to each other and build bridges,” said Phil. “This is an area in which the League excels, hosting events dealing with diverse perspectives on sensitive but important issues, like election integrity. I’m looking forward to learning about how to do this work hands-on, rather than simply reading about it in academic journals.”
Many thanks to our academic partners at Macalester College, and welcome, Putri and Phil! We look forward to collaborating with you!