89th SESSION/Spring 2025 Policy & Research Interns

The office of State Sen. Royce West is seeking up to 12 Policy, & Research Interns for the Spring 2025 Semester, which coincides with the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature. This position must possess strong research and writing skills, and the ability to complete topical memoranda or reports on topics as assigned. PLEASE NOTE: A resume, writing sample, and cover letter are REQUIRED to be attached in Handshake for your application to be considered. This is an in-office position with a minimum commitment of 15 hours per week required. While this position is not compensated, we do work with various programs at area universities that allow students to be compensated for their work. An internship in the Office of State Sen. Royce West provides students the opportunity to learn about and participate in the legislative process across all issue spectrums and most legislative process areas. Do work that matters. Policy and research interns in the office of State Senator Royce West have the unique opportunity to perform work that touches the lives of everyday Texans and shapes state government and its institutions in the 21st Century. Whether your interest lies in general government and general law, or specific topic areas such as health and human services, finance, or children's issues, you will have a chance to gain experience and knowledge in topic areas that matter to you. Knowledge that is transferrable. Knowledge you will gain as an intern in the office of State Senator Royce West is useful to you across all disciplines and aspects of your future work. You will gain a hands-on look at how state government relates to other government institutions and agencies, the public, the government relations sector, and more. Interact with policymakers. Our interns aren't stuck at a desk. They work with and attend meetings with staff across state government, giving them the opportunity to be exposed directly to policy and decision makers at various government agencies. This also provides our interns exposure to how agency policy is shaped by legislators during legislative interims. Highly Competitive. For the 88th Legislative Session, Senator West's office had over 110 applicants for our internship positions. Our internships are highly competitive. We will work with you if you are doing an internship for class credit or for a stipend through a university group, third-party non-profit, etc. A Great Stepping Stone. Today, interns from the 88th Texas Legislature are currently serving as interns or staff in state agencies, federal agencies, think tanks, and in the United States Senate. Several are also attending law school this fall. Interns from previous classes in Sen. West's office today hold positions as lobbyists, agency government relations staff, federal agency staff, state agency staff, private sector attorneys, and on the staff of other legislative offices. This internship is designed to help you function at a high level, and will serve you well no matter your selected career path. OTHER INFORMATION: Among duties of our Research and Policy Interns include bill analysis, attending and reporting on committee meetings, taking constituent or lobby meetings at the request of the Legislative Director, preparing memoranda and reports, etc. ALL INTERNS are also responsible for assisting the Legislative Director and lead staff with clerical duties which include preparation of committee notebooks, floor notebooks, presentations, etc. The office of State Sen. Royce West is a fast-pace environment during session. We try to provide lunch daily for our interns, and you will ALWAYS have access to coffee, water, and a large quantity of snacks here in our office. This is not an internship where you will sit at a desk with your face in front of a computer screen the entire time you are working. You will get to personally interact with the Senator (in fact, he personally assigns interns work from time to time), lobbyists, agency staff, constituents, and more. MANY EXPERIENCES: Under the Legislative Director's direction, you may assist him with matters related to anything from agriculture and water to Senate Finance. If you have a policy area of interest, we will try to ensure you have the opportunity to work in that policy area. You will also spend time on the senate floor helping staff the member. You will get to work on projects and see them through from beginning to end. DRESS CODE: While our non-session internships do not have a strict dress code, because we are interacting with the public, spring, session-year internships require you to dress in business attire. Gentlemen should wear a tie and have access to a jacket or sport coat at all times, as this is required dress code for access to the Senate Floor. Ladies should wear business attire which may include dresses, pants suits, blouses, dress pants, etc. Non-binary persons are asked to wear attire that conforms to the Senate rules. If you wish to apply to this internship and do not have appropriate attire and cannot afford appropriate attire, please indicate in your cover letter that you need wardrobe assistance. TIME FRAME: January 6 and May 30 are listed as the start and end dates. We will obviously work with students, as we are aware your semester starts later and ends earlier. While we prefer all interns to be able to start on the 6th, we can make accommodations. PARKING AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Our interns are provided free parking. The Texas Capitol is also easily accessible via CAPMETRO's buses, particularly the 7 and the 1, although multiple routes serve the building. THIS IS A FUN PLACE TO WORK. Please do not apply if you do not wish to be a valuable contributor to a team working hard to change the shape of Texas while having fun. DIVERSITY IS CELEBRATED HERE. Senator West's office celebrates and encourages diversity. Persons of color, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ persons are welcomed and encouraged to apply for this position. YOU MUST ONBOARD IN DECEMBER. All applicants selected must onboard between December 1 and December 31, 2024. On boarding consists of a personal visit to the Texas Capitol for you to secure your capitol identification badge, parking assignments, and other materials. On boarding takes approximately two hours due to the wait time for the badge processing. You must bring your driver license, passport, or government ID to this appointment. You must make an appointment with Sen. West's office to onboard.