Wake Washington

In this Issue: today we take a deep dive into the Wake Washington program, which I highly recommend to all students

For those of you who are not familiar, we have a domestic ‘semester away’ program that is called Wake Washington. Wake Washington is a combination study/internship program: students work at an internship in Washington four days a week and take classes two nights a week.

Wake Washington is a tremendous program and I am a huge fan. The program gives our students substantive real world work experience in one of the most exciting cities in our country, and allows them to learn from amazing Wake faculty as well as local alumni and parents/family members who have significant careers in Washington.  

I visited Washington, DC earlier this fall and talked to Jennifer Richwine ‘93, Executive Director of Wake Washington (and one of my oldest and dearest friends), about the program.

Give me the 50,000 foot view of Wake Washington.

The Wake Washington program runs in both the fall and spring semesters. A Wake Forest faculty member serves as the Resident Professor and teaches two courses in their field, with a focus on taking advantage of Washington, DC’s resources to enhance the coursework. 

The students’ internships come from a variety of disciplines within the government, international affairs, communication, non-profits, NGOs, policy, and more. Students write a research paper on a topic related to their internship and participate in a weekly meeting, which includes opportunities to hear from prominent speakers as well as to reflect on their internship experience. 

Alumni and parent mentors are available to students throughout the semester. Students earn six credits for the coursework and six credits for the internship and related deliverables.

This sounds like excellent preparation for Life After Graduation!

For students interested in living and working in DC post graduation, there is no comparable program that prepares them and gives them an advantage over their peers in the DC job market. In addition to earning robust job experience for their resume, they also build a substantial network of Wake Forest alumni, parents, and colleagues, to tap into for future job opportunities. And for students who are considering DC, public policy, politics, etc., but aren’t sure how they want to apply their education in the realm the semester gives them a deep dive into all of the various careers available to them from government, to think tanks, to non-profits, to government relations and lobbying, to advocacy, etc. 

And while it can be a challenging semester in that students are balancing four days of working an internship with two nights of classes, there is no better way to learn valuable skills like time management, networking, and navigating office culture. Wake Washington students learn what life after college is like:  how do I navigate a city, public transportation, my boss(es)’ requirements, receive performance feedback, achieve work-life-school balance?, etc. They get a test run in a much safer environment than their first job. Often students tell us that their semester at Wake Washington was their hardest semester, but their most rewarding. 

I am told we hold our students to high standards during the program. Talk a little about that.

An aspect to Wake Washington that is critical to students’ development is that they are held accountable for their decisions and actions. Here’s one example: we are sticklers when it comes to being on time. For everything we do. Not because the program is trying to be super rigid just for the sake of being rigid. It’s a lesson in respecting the people you work with, learn from, and meet in this program.

We bring in high ranking professionals from the government and other sectors to share their expertise with our students – for free. These are people who are high up in their organizations, who are working with our students out of the kindness of their hearts and an interest in helping shape future leaders. In order to keep getting those high profile people to come to the Wake Washington Center, respect is required. Put another way: if the former speaker of the house, who has an incredibly busy job can be on time for their Wake Washington lecture, you can’t walk in 10 minutes late as a student.

In addition, our students must produce high quality work at their internships. If they don’t, Wake Forest runs the risk of not getting future students placed at those same agencies and organizations. So each cohort of Wake Washington students must make a good impression on their employers. They learn to show up, to step up, to look for ways they can contribute, ask thoughtful questions, and go beyond the basic requirements of the job. 

A student’s professional reputation matters. DC is still a city that is very relational, and people can get jobs – or not – based on the word of their manager. And people change jobs so often in DC that someone who is your colleague today could be your manager down the road in a different organization. There are many proverbial bridges in DC and it’s important that none of them get burned.  The better our students perform at their internships, the more doors that could open for them if they want to settle in DC after graduation. 

How do students find their internship?

We believe that one of the essential benefits of this program is learning how to search for an internship, write compelling cover letters, and create a resume that gets your application a solid look, as well as learning how to prepare for interviews. We have partnered with OPCD since the start of the program to give the students all of the resources they need to find and secure a great internship. 

While students are technically required to find their own internship, we walk beside them the entire way. We meet with them a minimum of 4-5 months prior to the start of the semester to talk about the process, review their resumes and cover letters, and hold workshops on how to search for internships. We supply them throughout with known internships (those where previous Wake Washington students have interned, opportunities made available through the Wake Forest network, etc). 

I visit campus once a month or more, prior to each semester, to meet with the students individually to help them think through options and keep them on track with their applications. I also coach them through the negotiation process once they receive an offer, to determine start and stop dates, hours worked, any compensation (about 20-40% of internship have some stipend or hourly rate), etc. Then we create a learning agreement that outlines all of these details and the internship manager and the student sign prior to the internship start. Internship managers agree to provide substantive mid-term and final reviews, and we provide the platform and specific questions they answer about the student’s performance and areas of growth.     

You’ve worked really hard to establish a strong network of DC area alumni, parents and families who help our Wake Washington students. Tell me a little about the role the Wake network plays in DC.

The Wake Forest network here is critical to the success of the program. Our alumni, as well as parents and families, provide access to internships, speakers, mentors and specialized tours and visits. Our Wake Forest family in DC understands this city and how to navigate it professionally and personally, and they are eager to help our students have an easier road than they may have had when coming to DC for internships or jobs. 

This is a network that benefits our alumni and families as well as our students. Many of our young alumni have doors opened to them for their 2nd or 3rd jobs in DC through the Wake Forest network. We also serve many times as a clearinghouse for alumni, parents or families looking to hire – they know the value, competency and integrity that Wake Forest alumni possess, so finding a Wake Forester for the role is a win-win. 

If any current parents/families are in the DC area and want to get involved in Wake Washington, what kinds of activities are available to them? Where and/or how do you need families’ help?

We are always looking for additional DC  internship possibilities, job openings for seniors or new graduates, etc. Please keep us in mind when your office has positions that would be great for someone with a Wake Forest education. Our program plans special speakers, tours and visits for the students that are relevant to what they are studying each semester, so any Wake Forest families who have access to special tours or high ranking government officials, etc. are always helpful.  

We also keep a running list of people in the DC area willing to mentor a student, or host the group for dinner at a local restaurant or club. And you don’t have to live in the DC area to have connections here. Some of our best speakers for the program have come from people who live outside the area who happen to have connections that are helpful to us. One semester when students were studying national intelligence and counter terrorism, we were able to visit with DNI Dan Coates through a connection made for us from someone outside the area.

We also welcome our parents and families to participate in any of our local events. We love it when parents and families attend the Lovefeast live viewing, our brunch and learn classes with our resident professors, and Pro Humanitate service activities.  

What final thoughts do you want to share?

Our office is a resource for all Wake Forest students interested in internships or career opportunities in the DC area  – not just for those in the semester program. Any students (or alumni) who are considering internships, jobs, or careers in DC can request assistance from our office at any time by completing this brief intake form.  

Students interested in participating in a Wake Washington semester should plan ahead.  Because of the internship search component, applications and acceptance decisions are made earlier than many of the study abroad programs. As an example, we have already accepted a number of students for Fall 2025 semester focused on foreign policy (it’s not too late to apply!) and are already receiving applications for Spring 2026. More information is available here.  

Can you share some testimonials from past Wake Washington students?

• “Wake Washington is the greatest gift that Wake Forest has given me. The program allowed me to explore career opportunities in D.C. and to build myself as a professional and a scholar along with my amazing peers. Wake Washington is important to me because it accelerated my future interest in working in Washington, D.C., while also giving me relationships that will outlast my college years.”
• “Thanks to the Wake Washington program, I am absolutely obsessed with D.C. The program not only introduced me to a city where I had hoped to live, but it also gave me an opportunity to connect with a variety of Wake Forest alumni and gain fantastic on-the-job experience. My Wake Forest experience would be utterly incomplete without Wake Washington, and I’m thrilled to begin my first career in D.C. having participated in such a valuable and hands-on program.”
• “I love being here. I love the work I’m doing, I love the speakers and Friday activities, I love the courses. And lastly, I love being a semi-adult in this incredible city. I wish I could tell my seventeen-year-old self that the Wake Washington program would far exceed her expectations.”
• “This semester has prompted me to be introspective about what I want as a career. Before coming, the finance path was what appealed to me. But now, seeing the dichotomy between political and fiscal work, I have begun to reconsider. Having Wake Washington as my study abroad semester has expanded my horizons in ways that the campus life back at Wake Forest could never have done. And I implore anyone interested in the program to go for it.”
• “To this day, years after I participated in the program, I credit Wake Washington with jumpstarting and propelling me into my professional career. I can’t imagine my time at Wake Forest without it.”
• “Because of Wake Washington, I am no longer nervous about entering the real world after graduation. This experience has given me the skills, the network, and the confidence to be successful and I’m excited about my future.”    

Those students’ comments speak for themselves! Thank you, Jennifer, for all you and your team do to make Wake Washington such a remarkable experience for our students!

Editor’s note: not only is Jennifer an amazing professional resource for our students, she knows all the insider tips about things to do in DC and how to make the most of your time in the city. This is from a sunrise walk we took to the Mall.