Each biennium, UNLV students engage in the legislative process in a variety of ways, including participating in policy development and the bill draft process, advocating for UNLV’s legislative agenda, and serving as legislative interns and externs to assist lawmakers with various duties such as tracking bills, conducting research, and meeting with constituents. The experience takes the classroom to the community, empowering students to have real-world impact on some of Nevada’s most critical issues. The opportunity is open to all UNLV majors, though most participants are political science and law majors.

Each week during the Legislative Session, we’ve introduced you to one of the many UNLV students engaging in the legislative process during the Session. This week, we are sharing an article published in the most recent edition of the UNLV Foundation’s Giving Matters newsletter which spotlights the importance of legislative internships:

Carson City as Classroom - UNLV’s 2023 Legislative Interns Get Real-Life Lessons in Democracy

Government by the people and for the people is a core American value. But how many of us really know the nitty-gritty details of how our government actually, well, governs?

A cohort of UNLV students went to Carson City this spring to find out. Under the umbrella of college-based internship programs, students have been first-hand observers – and participants – in the mighty and messy inner workings of Nevada state government.

The interns are embedded in the state capital from February through the end of the legislative session in early June. Their jobs include researching proposed laws, tracking bills, and monitoring media. They sit in on committee hearings, shadow legislators, and hear public testimony. And, through hands-on involvement in the legislative process, they’re learning exactly how government ‘by the people’ happens.

“It’s captivating to talk with legislators and understand how, by representing their constituents, they impact Nevada,” says Phyllice Pichon, a participant in this spring’s donor-supported College of Liberal Arts legislative internship program. Pichon is a political science major interning for Senator Julie Pazina. “I’ve learned that each bill or amendment is ultimately proposed for the wellbeing of the people in Nevada.”

To help cover living expenses in Carson City, interns receive stipends that are privately funded through corporate and individual gifts to UNLV. They gain real-life work experience while receiving academic credit toward their degrees. To some, the internship serves as an “audition” for a future profession.

“I used to wonder how people found jobs that challenged them intellectually, and I think I'm on track for finding one within this field,” says Anandah Muhammad-Henry, an anthropology major whose College of Liberal Arts internship is supported by Rowe Law Group. “I've had so many opportunities to meet people – senators and assembly members, UNLV professors and NSHE staff – who have personally affected me.

“I found a new sense of belonging and capability. I'm so thankful for this opportunity.”

Past interns have leveraged their experience into meaningful careers. Elliot Anderson, a 2009 participant, was elected assemblyman for District 15 in November 2010 and served until 2018. He received his J.D. from Boyd School of Law and is now a litigation attorney with Greenberg Traurig. Other former interns have held positions like director of government affairs for the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce; finance director of a Nevada state treasurer’s campaign; and executive director of the Nevada Assembly Republican Caucus.

Saha Salahin is a communications and media studies major with a Brookings public policy minor. As an intern in the office of Senator Nicole J. Cannizzaro, she came to Carson City with the impression that the two major political parties had irreconcilable agendas. But being privy to behind-the-scenes meetings gave her new insights.

“It was surprising to witness the bi-partisan efforts that take place in hopes of pushing forward legislation for the greater community,” Salahin says.

If there is an over-riding lesson to be learned from the internship experience, it might be that it is ultimately fellow people who drive governance.

“It feels surreal, like I am moving through the world not as a student, but someone who has the ability to change things,” says Muhammad-Henry. “This internship made me realize that the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”