Contact:
Mike Ferlazzo
570-577-3212
570-238-6266 (c)
mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu
LEWISBURG, Pa. (September 3, 2026) – During her summer in Washington, D.C., Katherine Lenshin ’28, an international relations and economics double-major from Brooklyn, N.Y., immersed herself in the world of policy making as an intern for Winning Strategies Washington, a learning government relations and grants procurement firm.
“Throughout my internship, I gained a lot of insight into why lobbying exists and how it affects the basic functions of our government,” says Lenshin, whose alumni connection on the job was Laura Lay ’02, partner and director of grants. “Appropriations committees are responsible for allocating funds for various programs, but the public holds the power to engage with their representatives’ offices to voice the change they want to see.”
What she learned on the job was bolstered by an international relations and law class that she took through American University’s Washington Semester Program. “We had visiting speakers come and talk about everything from career preparation to nuclear power and U.S. energy policy and national security,” says Lenshin, who reached out to speakers to connect over coffee and explore what potential careers in those fields could look like.
Beyond her internship and class, Lenshin came away from the experience with a real sense of autonomy and community. “I had control over how I wanted to explore D.C. and what I wanted to take away from it,” she says. “While having that kind of independence was really meaningful, it was also great to be part of a cohort. Mia and I lived together in an apartment, and Max and Ibby were always nearby. We all had our own work, and we were all able to do our own thing, but we were never alone in the experience.”
-30-
To download full image, right-click and choose “save image as”
