by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Last week, Rachel Dixon and Blair Kingsbury were two local college girls home for summer break. Unlike many college kids who spend their summers at the beach, working a little and, perhaps, taking a class or two to get ahead, Dixon and Kingsbury will spend the summer in Washington, D.C. working 50-plus hour weeks for nothing more than a “Thank you.”
Today, Dixon and Kingsbury are in the nation’s capital, dressed to the nines, serving as interns at the White House in the Office of Correspondence. Considering that over 1,000 college kids from all over the nation applied for the internships, the fact that one girl from the Jacksonville area was chosen is a bit of an upset; two is a major coup. While both girls certainly merited selection — they are ambitious, driven, personable and smart — they also both subscribed to the “it’s who you know” adage as part of their application.
Dixon asked for, and received, letters of recommendation from Mayor John Delaney, City Council President Matt Carlucci and attorney Gary Pajcic. Kingsbury went through lobbyist and long time family friend Marty Fiorentino — she used to baby sit for him — family friend Lauren Snyder and Fran Norris, another long time friend who happens to live in D.C.
Dixon (1999) and Kingsbury (2000) both graduated from Episcopal High, but went different directions for college. Dixon will graduate from Florida State University in December while Kingsbury just wrapped up her sophomore year at the College of Charleston.
Although neither is majoring in politics — Kingsbury is pursuing a degree in corporate communications and Dixon will receive her degree in finance — both girls follow and understand the process and come from deep Republican roots. That’s not to say neither would have pursued an internship if the current president was a Democrat, they just wouldn’t have interned for the country’s latest Democratic leader.
“It would have depended on if I respected him,” said Dixon of working under a Democratic president. “[Bill] Clinton, no. [Jimmy] Carter, yes. I’m not sure if my parents would have let me go if Clinton was still in office, especially after everything that happened with him.”
“Certainly some things are not Republican or Democrat, but you have respect who’s in office,” said Kingsbury, agreeing with Dixon’s assessment that working under Clinton would not have been a consideration.
In addition to needing letters of recommendation, the application process included several other factors that took a while to complete. A long while.
“It was a huge process,” said Kingsbury. “The FBI forms were the biggest part by far. We had to interview with people from the White House. It took all semester.”
“We were actually encouraged to apply by someone in D.C. We went on-line and applied through their web site,” said Dixon, adding that a majority of the applicants seemed to come from Texas (President George Bush’s home state) and Vanderbilt University (which has an strong government curriculum.) “We started the process during Christmas break.”
Their patience and persistence paid off, but the hard work has just begun. Both believe the White House will prove to be all that and then some. They also both understand that their internships will very much come with a “work first, play later” attitude in an atmosphere that will exude the ultimate in professionalism and demand an ability to deal with pressure. At 20 and 19 years of age, respectively, both Dixon and Kingsbury come across as amazingly prepared for three months of Washington, D.C. and its pressure cooker climate.
“We’ve been told,” said Kingsbury. “No pay, no open-toed shoes, shirts tucked in, pants or suits, no skirts and our days will start at 8 a.m. and last until at least 6 p.m.”
For Dixon, the experience will be new, but not a first away from the beach. She’s spent previous summers in Florence, Italy, London and Paris. With graduation just months away, Dixon plans to use her internship as a opportunity to add to her resume and develop as many contacts as possible.
“The contacts will help us forever,” said Dixon, who is getting married and moving to Frankfurt shortly after graduation. She believes that a summer in D.C. could help land a good job while in Germany. “It might not be how much we learn in the Correspondence Department, but what we learn from the people in Washington.”
Kingsbury is entering new territory, but that doesn’t mean she’s hesitant at all. Rather, both girls said last week, they couldn’t wait to get on the plane.
“I’ve done summer breaks before and it’s great, but I realized that it was time to buckle down and intern somewhere,” said Kingsbury. “It’s exciting. It will be a taste of something totally different for both of us.”
Making life a little easier will be the fact that Dixon and Kingsbury will room together this summer. George Washington University will also help make things more convenient.
“George Washington opens up their housing for interns each summer,” said Dixon. “We will be three blocks from the White House.”
Although Dixon has been to some of the planet’s most interesting towns, this summer’s foray to D.C. is a first. Kingsbury, however, has been to D.C. before and explained that a trip 12 years ago left her enamored with the city.
“I was actually taken in by D.C. when I was seven years old,” said Kingsbury. “We went when the other Bush [George H.] was president. It was the worst road trip of my life. We were supposed to go to the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn but it rained and Bush flew over us in a helicopter. Then, we took a tour of the White House and I was so taken with the White House that I had chills. It’s exciting to think I actually get to go back.”
Life-wise, Dixon has a plan. Marriage. Live in New York for a few years and get her MBA from New York University. Work as a financial advisor and eventually settle in Austin, Tex. (Her fiance wants to run for United States Senate from that state.)
Other the other hand, Kingsbury is still working on it, but that’s to be expected. She won’t graduate until 2004 and, at this point, has a better grasp on life than most 10-year professionals. Still, she sees this summer as the chance of a lifetime to make friends and contacts that will last a lifetime.
And, both girls do have one very specific goal in mind.
“Our goal is to meet the President, make contacts and learn as much as we can,” said Dixon, speaking for both.
“Basically, this is a test for me,” said Kingsbury. “I’m not sure what I’ll do [as a career]. I’m not that involved in politics. I’m going to see if I like this or not. I think it will be an incredible experience overall. Every aspect of it will be positive and I couldn’t be more excited.”