My Summer at the State Department: Interning in Venezuela

By Erica Lutes ’02

When I first heard I was selected to be a summer intern at the United States State Department in Caracas, Venezuela, everyone was asking, “What will you be doing down there?” While the notion of an international paper shredder or coffee server for the ambassador did cross my mind several times, I had no idea what to expect. The only idea I had to come to terms with was that I would pack my bags and leave my family and familiar surroundings to spend three full months in a developing nation thousands of miles away. Ultimately, the internship exceeded all my expectations.

The highlight of my trip came when I witnessed elections in which 3,000 offices (from the president to positions in municipal government) were up for grabs, and I became a part of the political process. My role was to head the election observation program for the American embassy. Recruiting and coordinating forty observers, I was able to work with the Organization of American States (OAS) to participate in what is known as a “quick count” of the election results. Three U.S. Congressmen from Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Minnesota joined us for the observing, and I was fortunate enough to ride in their motorcade throughout their stay. At a formal reception at the ambassador’s residence, I met former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Roslyn.

Being able to work for other sections of the embassy expanded my experience more broadly than I could have imagined. Writing reports on the economic situation of Venezuela (thank you, microeconomics class), participating in private business meetings for the commercial section (thank you, complex organizations class), as well as translating, writing demarches on the Peruvian elections, composing classified cables on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and sending letters from President Clinton to the Venezuelan president made for a substantive and meaningful internship.
I was also privileged to sit in on a meeting with the newly elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias, his first gathering after his reelection. At the event, someone mentioned that it was my twentieth birthday that day. The president nodded in approval and commented that his daughter was a third-year international relations student as well. Later that day, to my surprise, a magnificent, four-foot-tall flower arrangement, sent by Chavez, arrived at my apartment.

This internship has reinforced my desire to pursue a career in the Foreign Service, and I now feel more than one step closer to achieving that goal. And I’m happy to report that I didn’t make much progress on the paper-shredding and coffee-serving fronts.

Lutes is spending her junior year at Yale University and can be contacted at erica.lutes@yale.edu.