Juan Delgado’s final semester with the O’Neill School included a career-shaping internship experience—one that provided him with the chance to learn from doing hands-on government work at the national level, all without leaving Indianapolis.
“Since high school, I’ve had an interest in civics, government, and politics,” he says. “When I enrolled at IU Indianapolis, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in public service and work within a government-related field.”
To do that, he took on two majors: Management with the O’Neill School and political science.
“I chose O’Neill because I saw how many of the degrees the school offered could be applied within the public sector,” he explains.
That decision would open the door to even more opportunities, including an internship that supported both of his degrees. It was O’Neill Career Advisor Stacy Lozer who first connected Delgado with an internship opening with Congressman André Carson’s office.
“Interning with a congressional office has been my dream since Day 1 of my academic journey,” he says. “Internships let us reflect and apply theories and practices we learn in university in a professional workplace setting with real-world impacts. They’re also essential for understanding the workforce we will encounter after graduation.”
He stresses that’s why students should use internships to mentally prepare themselves for the jobs they plan to pursue.
Some O’Neill students opt to work with Congressman Carson’s office by spending a semester in Washington, D.C. as part of O’Neill’s Washington Leadership Program. But Delgado preferred to stay local.
“I chose the Indianapolis office because it was the more pragmatic choice,” he explains.
Doing so, he says, allowed him to keep his classes on track and meet his planned graduation date of December 2023.
Not only was he able to balance his internship and his classes, but Delgado also says his day-to-day work was extremely fulfilling on a personal and professional level.
“It filled me with an intense feeling of goodness to help the constituents of Indiana’s 7th Congressional District.”
He was able to work with cases in the Rep. Carson’s office and help constituents who came into the office with issues to discuss. But it also helped him lay the groundwork for his own future career.
“I hope the experience gained from this internship will help open new doors and opportunities with the local, state, or federal government,” he says. “This internship has cemented my career plans. I am now more confident than ever that I want to continue pursuing a career in the public sector. I want to keep helping people in their most dire times as we reinstall the idea that government can actually step in and help the people it serves.”
