6 Undergrads Invited to Work and Learn in DC

Six UT Dallas students are spending this fall in Washington, D.C., as part of the Bill Archer Fellow Program offered by the Archer Center.  The students are among 32 undergraduates chosen from throughout the UT System to participate in the fellowship.

The students spend a semester in a full-time internship and take three courses for academic credit. Their assignments include jobs at the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the United Nations Information Centre, the U.S. Department of State and governmental offices of various private-sector entities.  Classes focus on policy, economics and the art of persuasion.

The University’s Archer Fellows include:

• Julianne Ayyad, a senior accounting major who is working for U.S. Rep. Pete Olson.
• Grace Bielawski, a junior political science major who is working in the Government Affairs Office of the Humane Society of America.
• Philip Harris, a junior political science major who is interning with the Heritage Foundation.
• Jenifer Pfanzelt, senior literary studies and political science major who is interning with the Justice at Stake campaign.
• Dina Shahrokhi, a junior political science major who is interning at the Middle East Institute.
• Igor Shneider, a senior finance major who is interning at the Office of Economic Policy at the U.S. Treasury.

The Archer Center chooses a number of students to participate in the Fellows program every fall and spring. Students undergo a rigorous application process.

 “The Archer program provides its Fellows with such great resources and really enables us to fully experience what D.C. has to offer,” said Shahrokhi.

Former UT Dallas students selected as Archer Fellows have gone to law school at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, New York University and Georgetown University, as well as graduate programs at Princeton University, The University of Texas at Austin and the London School of Economics, among others.

Before retiring from Congress after 30 years of service, U.S. Representative Bill Archer teamed with The University of Texas System to create the Bill Archer Center.  The center was established to educate the next generation of leaders from Texas in local, state, federal and international service.

UT Dallas serves as the UT System host institution for the Archer Fellows program, providing administrative support for the center and its activities.