The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an umbrella organization representing 3,000 Polish American organizations, ranging from national fraternal benefit societies, such as the Polish National Alliance, Polish Women’s Alliance, Polish Roman Catholic Union, Polish Falcons and others, including veterans’, cultural, professional, religious and social associations, with an aggregate membership of over one million.
The PAC seeks undergraduate, recent graduates or graduate students in good academic standing preferably of Polish heritage for part-time internships in the Washington, DC Office. Internships are unpaid. Applications deadlines are:
- Summer term 2018: June 13
- Fall term 2018: August 17
- Winter term 2018/2019: November 7
- Summer 2019: TBA
For all positions, applicants must be at least Juniors or Seniors in college at the time of application. Professionalism and dependability are a must. Also, our interns must possess strong oral and written communications skills, interpersonal skills, and be able to work both independently and as members of a team. They must have a strong interest in issues concerning Poland, Polonia and/or Central Europe. Language and computer skills are highly desired. Proficiency in the Polish language is a plus, but is not required. Each intern will receive a letter of recommendation upon completion of the internship program.
| Typical intern program | Example issue paper | Former intern’s reflections |
Fundraising and Marketing Intern
Hours: 25 hours per week
Supervisors: Administrator and Director of Policy
Compensation: Unpaid
The internship program has three components: fundraising, research, and office support. Activities include research to identify potential donors; to assist with fundraising and marketing initiatives, especially a major fundraising campaign using social media and analytics; to create and update databases, and to participate in everyday office activities.
Depending on the semester and the number of interns in the office, the intern may be asked to work as a team member with other interns. A detailed, individualized program will be prepared to fit each intern’s interests.
Duties include but are not limited to:
- Researching prospective sources of funding
- Helping with reaching out to prospective donors
- Assisting in a fundraising campaign using social media
- Assisting in content creation for social media
- Assisting staff in preparing materials for conferences
Qualifications:
- Working towards a degree in Marketing, Digital Strategy, Analytics or other similar field
- Experience in Facebook advertising is a plus
- Must be creative and have a lot of initiative
Must have excellent written and verbal communications skills, ability to prioritize effectively, and to pay attention to detail - Experience with analytics is a plus
- Experience with graphic design is a plus but is not required
IT and Digital Media Intern
Hours: 25 hours per week
Supervisors: Administrator
Compensation: Unpaid
The internship program has three components: IT support, website creation, and office support. This internship is ideal for a graduate or a student working towards Computer Science, IT or Digital Media degree, or a creative person with experience in website creation and graphic design.
Depending on the semester and the number of interns in the office, the intern may be asked to work as a team member with other interns. A detailed, individualized program will be prepared to fit each intern’s interests.
Duties include but are not limited to:
- Performing general IT duties
- Helping create content and graphics for the website
- Assisting staff in preparing materials for conferences
- Assisting staff with audio and visual support for the September 25-28 Polish American Congress Council of National Directors Meeting in Washington, DC.
- Helping to monitor social media analytics
- For a motivated student, there is a possibility of creating a new website for the PAC and having the chance to showcase it in their portfolio for prospective employers along with a recommendation from the Polish American Congress.
- Performing various office duties as assigned
Qualifications:
- A recent graduate or working towards a degree in Web Development, IT, Computer Science, Digital Media or a similar degree
- Experience with creating websites and Microsoft Expression Web
- Experience with graphic design
- Ability to create and edit videos is a plus but is not required
- Experience with analytics is a plus but is not required
Policy Intern
Hours: 25 hours per week
Supervisors: Director of Policy
Compensation: Unpaid
The internship program is built upon four components: legislative research, opposition research, honing and publicizing the PAC’s message, and office support. Activities include researching legislative bills; meeting Members of Congress and their staffers; participating in press conferences, seminars, lectures etc.; updating databases, and participating in everyday office activities. After each event the intern will be asked to write a fair summary.
Depending on the semester and the number of interns in the office, the intern may be asked to work as a team member with other interns. A detailed, individualized program will be prepared to fit each intern’s interests.
Duties include but are not limited to:
- Conducting research on legislation, particularly those matters affecting the Polish American community
- Conducting projects relating to implementation of resolutions enacted by the PAC Council of National Directors. Please read these resolutions on the PAC national web site.
- Writing press releases
- Attending various events such as Congressional Hearings, press conferences, lectures and briefings (e.g. organized by Heritage Foundation, Institute of World Politics, coalitions on immigration policy, East Central European ethnic groups, as well as other foundations and organizations);
- Conducting research on various matters concerning Polish Americans and Poland,
- Performing various office duties, as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Must be fluent in English
- Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Must have strong research skills
- Working towards a degree in Political Science, History, International Relations, Public Policy, Security Studies or other relevant field
- Ability to read, write and speak Polish is a plus
Membership in the PAC is required for all those working in the Washington office, including interns.
Note: We will accept an additional Policy Intern if there is no candidate matching IT and Digital Media Intern criteria.
If interested, please e-mail resume, cover letter and a short writing sample (1-3 pages) to the attention of Klara Z. Wisniewska at kwisniewska@pac1944.org.