Governors Internship
Preparing the Future Leaders of Mexico
The Governors Internship Program prepares Mexico’s future leaders to face the complex challenges of the 21st century. The students are competitively selected by each state government.
Participants obtain professional and academic training in areas related to the economic and social development of their state and their communities. The program combines four days at an internship with an additional full day of activities each week. This structure enriches students’ academic knowledge while they gain valuable cultural and social experiences. During the semester participants must develop a project that impacts and improves the well-being of their regions. The project must be able to attract investment or represent a regional product or industry. At the end of the program, these projects are presented to their state governor.
Estados de Mexico
Started 10 years ago, today most of Mexico’s state governments have supported the program. Participating states include Coahuila, Sonora, Campeche, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Morelos, Tamaulipas, Yucatán, Jalisco, Michoacán, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato and Nuevo León. Currently, many of Mexico’s governors provide full funding to students.
Capacitacion Para el Servicio Publico
Social skills, professionalism, leadership, work ethics, flexibility to adapt to change, accountability, collaboration, creativity and intellectual curiosity are all woven into these categories. Due to the enormous complexity of governments nowadays, political leaders are interested in the knowledge, skills and abilities people bring to the public service, not just their educational or political credentials.
Through the Governors Internship Program, students will:
- Learn to adapt quickly to the changes and respond to changing social demands.
- Understand how a public servant can efficiently and transparently answer to citizens.
- Learn how to build consensus among political opponents.
- Plot a pathway to becoming responsible policymakers.
- Identify ways to advance innovation within the public sector.
- Learn to design and structure a public policy project.
- Learn how to become a results-oriented public servant.
- Understand how to build a public service career based on merits and ethical behavior.
The Internship Experience
Estudiar en Washington A typical week blends a four-day-per-week internship with program-specific rigorous academics. Coursework forms the core of TWC’s learning initiatives; Governors Internship participants attend two evening courses each week. One course focuses on a project to aid the development and well-being of their home state; the other is tailored to increasing their knowledge in a specific area of interest.
Beyond regular courses, Mondays are dedicated to tours, lectures or other activities where students with distinguished leaders with diverse professional backgrounds; there they engage in substantive discussions from different topics of international relevance. Participants will visit organizations offer unique opportunities to tour and learn from leaders in influential organizations such as:
- World Bank
- International Monetary Fund
- Organization of American States
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Capitol
- Pentagon
- Library of Congress
- Newseum
Conferences also play a large role in the academic structure of the program. Throughout the semester students may participate in meetings taking place in Washington, D.C., that may focus on:
- Communication and Negotiation Skills
- Human Rights, Immigration Policy or U.S.-Mexico Relations
- Transparency and Accountability
- Entrepreneurship or Free Trade Agreements in Latin America
- Environmental Issues
- Drug Trafficking
Experiential Learning From Tuesday through Friday they go to their internship placements [2] where they gain work experience and acquire skills, abilities and attitudes that will benefit them in their future careers. Moreover, a variety of additional opportunities enrich The Washington Center experience:
- Additional events on their own throughout the week around Washington, D.C.
- Practice networking skill and engage in deep conversations on different issues with fellow students, faculty, or internship site mentors.
- Join a civic engagement project over the weekends.
Sample Internship Sites
Each semester there are many different internship sites available to choose from. Some of the organizations where Governors Internship Program participants have worked include:
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Senate
- Inter-American Culture and Development Foundation
- Organization of American States (OAS)
- Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)
- U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce
- Cesar Chavez Public Charter School or Public Policy
- North American Association for Environmental Education
- Global Centurion
- In Trust Global Investments, LLC
- Election Mall Technologies Inc.
- CG/LA Infrastructure, LLC
- The Woodward Wilson Center
- National Hispanic Council on Aging
- Latino Leaders Network
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
- Partners of the Americas
- National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
- U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
