Student Spotlight: Hannah Zimmerman, Baylor in Washington
Hannah Zimmerman (History & Political Science, 2023) is spending her fall semester in Washington, D.C. with the Baylor in Washington program, a unique engaged learning and professional development opportunity for Baylor undergraduates. She works a full-time internship and is taking twelve hours of courses with the Baylor cohort, which includes sixteen other students.
Hannah is interning at a bipartisan lobbying firm called the Alpine Group. Her main job is to provide coverage of Congressional Committee hearings. She watches the hearings live and summarizes important information in memos for the entire firm and their clients. Hannah has also helped with other projects that cover House and Senate happenings and hosting events for clients and members of Congress.
Hannah writes, “My history skills have been so useful here in DC and at my internship! When I am typing up notes while watching hearings, I have to synthesize information quickly. My history classes have taught me how to quickly process significant amounts of information, and they have also given me important analytical skills. In addition, my history classes have taught me how to better understand people, so this has helped me with the interpersonal aspects of my internship.”
One of the great benefits of being a History major in DC for the semester? All the monuments, museums, and important historical sites! Hannah reports that her favorites in DC are the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Archives, and Mount Vernon. She is writing her Honors Thesis on James Madison and his contribution to the Bill of Rights under the direction of Dr. Jules Sweet, so when she saw James Madison’s real signature at the National Archives, she “fan-girled!!!”
The program has opened several post-graduation paths for Hannah. She writes,
“I want to come back to DC and pursue a history-related job, museum job, or work on Capitol Hill. Either way I go, I am confident my history skills will serve me well. While here, I have also had the opportunity to learn about several DC-based History graduate programs . . . . An emphasis of the Baylor in Washington program is the reassurance that it is okay not to have life all figure out by the time of graduation and to just embrace the opportunities that come your way.”
Although Hannah is looking forward to getting back to Waco to her Baylor History family, Waco spots like Fabled Bookshop and the Farmers’ Market, and her classes, she relates that Baylor in Washington has been a “life-changing and fulfilling experience, and a helpful trial run of post-graduation life.” She would recommend it to other students, based on its excellent professional development opportunities and the connections with Baylor alums in Washington. Hannah writes, “I am thankful to be a part of Baylor in Washington, and I wish I could do it again ten times!”
Sic ‘em, Hannah!