This past fall 35 students from seven countries came to Washington, D.C. to study public policy or journalism in the Capital Semester program. This year Adam Martin, F.A. Hayek Fellow at George Mason University, joined the faculty teaching Economics and Public Policy Issues.

The students were on their toes throughout the semester interning and visiting the sites of Washington, D.C. through TFAS briefings and tours. The class visited important D.C. places including the Federal Reserve, State Department, White House and Capitol. The group also gave back to the community by taking part in a service project at DC Central Kitchen.

Students participating in the journalism track of the program attended a private luncheon with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. They also met with Managing Editor Bill Nichols of Politico. Meanwhile, public policy students attended a lecture with Terry Roberts, director of the Carnegie Mellon Software Institute.

A commencement ceremony for the class took place on Dec. 9 at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Randy DeCleene, former deputy press secretary to Vice President Dick Cheney, delivered the keynote address during the program, while Leah Shirley, a student from Chapman University, gave a testimonial. Click Here to read Shirley’s remarks.

As the semester came to a close, two students in the program received job offers. Scott Eastman of the University of Nebraska will intern with the Cato Institute this spring and Nichole Sessego of Arizona State University was offered a position with a Washington public relations firm.