CT State Asnuntuck Student Reflects on Internship at the White House

CT State Asnuntuck Human Service-Social Work student Kris Louis beams when they talk about the internship they participated in last semester. Kris, a child of Haitian immigrants, was encouraged by their partner to apply for an internship for the Biden-Harris White House Administration. They did it somewhat reluctantly. “They would never give it to a community college student,” Kris recalled thinking.

After submitting their application and waiting a month they had an interview. After their interview, patience was a necessity since they had to wait another month and a half before hearing that they were selected for this opportunity. “Once I received the acceptance letter, I began to believe in myself again,” explained Kris.

Back from D.C., Kris is working toward completing their final semester as a Human Service-Social Work major at CT State Asnuntuck. Kris said the experience was more than they could have hoped for.

For their internship, they were placed in the Office of Public Engagement. They explained, “I supported the LGBTQI+ and youth, rural and sports, aging, disability, African American, Latino, and African Diaspora portfolios.”

Kris said the first half of the internship provided opportunities to work in areas based on their resume/experience, with the second half of the 15-week internship engaging them with areas that they had expressed interest in. “We left the internship feeling like event planners,” said Kris, who added that they appreciated that many who were supervising them had also been interns in the past. “We received advice from people who understood where we were at,” said Kris. “I want to share how grateful I was to have been paired with an amazing group of six of my fellow interns in the office and for the senior advisors and intern coordinators who supported us throughout the experience!”

The highlight of their time at the White House came when they were asked to read a letter from President of the United States Joe Biden to a Haitian delegation during the Haitian Diaspora event at the White House. They were also able to address the audience in Creole as well. Also, in the room where it happened were Kris’ brothers, partner, and another family friend. Kris added, “It was a surreal moment to be in the White House and representing the most important part of me.” They continued, “My culture is one to always be proud of.”

Kris said they left the internship with a deeper commitment to public service and as a stronger advocate for marginalized communities. Kris added, “A major highlight of my internship was supporting the senior advisor of the disability portfolio in organizing a sensory-friendly Halloween event at the White House which gave me a great insight into what type of work I would like to do in the future.”

Kris has an exciting future. They will be graduating from CT State Asnuntuck in May and is looking forward to continuing their studies at a four-year institution. They are grateful for their time at Asnuntuck and appreciate the support they received from their program’s coordinator Carol LaLiberte. “Carol has been one of my biggest cheerleaders.”

Located in Enfield, Connecticut, CT State Asnuntuck (pronounced: As-NUN-tuck), formerly Asnuntuck Community College, was established in 1972. The campus offers associate degrees, certificates, and short-term workforce training programs to prepare students for careers, transfer opportunities, and lifelong learning.

The 12 community colleges in Connecticut merged on July 1, 2023, to become CT State Community College, one of the largest community colleges in the country and largest in New England, dedicated to quality, access and affordability. CT State students can apply once and take classes and access services at any campus. Locations include Asnuntuck (Enfield), Capital (Hartford), Gateway (New Haven and North Haven), Housatonic (Bridgeport), Manchester, Middlesex (Middletown and Meriden), Naugatuck Valley (Waterbury and Danbury), Northwestern (Winsted), Norwalk, Quinebaug Valley (Danielson and Willimantic), Three Rivers (Norwich), and Tunxis (Farmington). Find out more at ctstate.edu.