Georgetown University students pursuing federal internships feel torn between disappointment at losing professional experience and relief at gaining free time as internships are paused during the ongoing federal shutdown. 

After Congress failed to pass a funding resolution, the federal government shut down Oct. 1, leaving 670,000 workers across the country furloughed and 730,000 working without pay. While some staff and Georgetown student interns in the Senate have been working without pay, House of Representatives staffers have not been working on Capitol Hill, as the chamber has not been in session in October. 

Timothy Cole-French (SFS ’26), who is interning on Capitol Hill for a member of the Massachusetts delegation, said he sought out his internship to gain key experience needed to pursue his career path after graduation. 

“I want to work as a ‘leg’ aide in either a law firm or a lobbying group, and for those roles you like, explicitly need some form of Hill experience,” Cole-French told The Hoya. “So I realized, if I want to get that sort of job, I have to work on the Hill.” 

Cole-French, who is now furloughed, said he was stunned to see his internship stall.  

“Above all, it was surreal, just because shutdowns are big national news,” Cole-French said. “I would hear about it back in Boston when I was in high school, but then to just be in the midst of it was crazy.”

The federal government has been closed for 30 days as of Oct. 31, and if it stays closed through Nov. 5, the shutdown will break the record for the longest government closure, which was 34 days. The Senate has failed 13 votes to pass a continuing resolution funding the government, with Democrats holding out over the exclusion of an extension of health care tax credits.

Anita Tun (MSB, SFS ’27) interned for three weeks in the office of Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) before being forced to stay home. 

In addition to missing out on mentorship from staffers and the capstone project of her internship, during which she would have researched bills for the representative to cosponsor, Tun said she also lost the educational value of a Congressional internship. 

“One of my favorite parts about interning at the House was going to all these types of briefings, of issues that I’ve never known prior,” Tun told The Hoya. 

“I just found that extremely fascinating, and it opened a lot of other avenues of, ‘oh, maybe I’m interested in pursuing health care policy or XYZ,’” she added. “Now, that door is kind of closed in regards to learning all these different new topics through briefings.” 

Lukas Pitman (SFS ’27), a furloughed intern at the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, said he has become increasingly disappointed at missing his internship as the shutdown progresses. 

“It was definitely a needed break, especially with midterms starting,” Pitman told The Hoya. “But after one week, two weeks, then three weeks, eventually it was, ‘Okay, this has gone on long enough, I’ve had enough of a break, it’s time to get back to work.’”

A number of benchmarks throughout November are expected to increase pressure on Congress to reopen the government, including congressional staffers missing pay scheduled for Nov. 5, Obamacare enrollment opening on Nov. 1 and holiday travel for Thanksgiving being impacted by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) furloughs.  

Still, students like Pitman are finding the extra time to be a source of relief, allowing them to focus on their schoolwork. 

Pitman said he struggled to keep up with his classes while working in Congress. 

“I’ve actually been able to focus more time on my classes,” Pitman said. “When we were in session, I really wasn’t able to focus on my classes. I wasn’t able to, just at the time, get all the readings done, do the assignments, maybe as I should have.”

“And I think now, during October, I’ve actually been able to focus a lot on the classes that this year, for the first time, are my major classes,” he added. 

Anika Rahman (SFS ’26) said being furloughed from her unpaid Department of Commerce internship was similar to her Summer 2025 experience, when her State Department internship was canceled due to a federal hiring freeze.  

Full disclosure: Anika Rahman previously served as a Guide Staff Writer for The Hoya.

“I think from back in Spring, when I had my State Department internship rescinded, that was definitely more frustrating,” Rahman told The Hoya. “So it prepared me for this in a way.” 

Rahman said that while she is unsure how to feel about the shutdown, she has nevertheless found more time to focus on schoolwork. 

“Now that I have two days out of my week free, I’m certainly focusing more on school, getting assignments done way ahead of time,” Rahman said. 

Some students, while experiencing this mix of emotions, said they were most concerned for federal workers struggling to afford basic necessities after pay deferments, as well as people expected to lose essential government services Nov. 1, such as recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Sean Moran (CAS ’26), an unpaid intern in Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) office who is currently furloughed, said he is more concerned about federal employees dependent on stable incomes than unpaid interns like himself. 

“Just because we’re not essential employees, it doesn’t really have that much of an effect, but it’s very unfortunate that it’s happening to people that are living paycheck to paycheck,” Moran told The Hoya.  

Tun said the experience is particularly difficult because she was initially drawn to Georgetown for its access to public service work. 

“One of the main reasons why I wanted to go to Georgetown was the professional aspect,” Tun said. “My professional aspirations are closely related to government work, maybe foreign affairs, but because of the government shutdown, my professional experience working at the House has been cut short, and it’s been disappointing considering that the process is pretty competitive to get into this opportunity.” 

Wyatt Adamovich (CAS ’28), a furloughed intern in Rep. Glenn Grothman’s (R-Wis.) office, said he feels inclined to turn to the private sector, though he would prefer to work in public service. 

“This break has made me think about pursuing opportunities in the private sector because things like shutdowns can’t happen there,” Adamovich wrote to The Hoya. “One of the things that worried me about working in politics is the uncertainty of my employment. Previously, this had been because jobs depend on which party is in power, but now I’m realizing that the federal budget is another variable in this.”

Cole-French said that although this period of uncertainty is worrisome and confusing, it is also a unique experience emblematic of a Georgetown education. 

“As frustrating and annoying as it is, it is also just interesting to witness firsthand this sort of major event,” Cole-French said. “Because I think that is one of the other promises of Georgetown, is through its proximity to the seat of power, you just witness whatever sort of political drama is going on.”

“So even if I’m not getting to have the full hilltern experience, I’m getting to have a very authentically Georgetown experience by witnessing this major political event,” Cole-French added.