Being an Undergraduate Student Government intern has peaked Nathan Stevenson’s interest in politics.

“I don’t have a set agenda but I’d definitely like to be involved in the future,” said Stevenson, a freshman in pre-nursing.

The internship program teaches freshmen leadership skills and how to get involved at Ohio State, said Jim Fondriest, co-director of the program.

“We don’t get credit or anything. It’s more like training to be more involved in USG,” said intern Jordan Davis, a freshman in political science.

“The goal of the program has become not only to create future leaders of our organization but also to create future leaders on campus,” he said.

Each fall, about 130 applicants ranging from former high school student body presidents to Air Force ROTC members apply to the program. Part of the application process is an interview with co-directors of the program, Fondriest and Amanda Folk.

Once selected, the class of 30 interns attend senate and committee meetings each week and organize a USG newsletter sent out quarterly, Fondriest said.

“It’s only about a three-hour commitment a week,” Davis said.

Each Friday night, the 30 interns go out to dinner with Fondriest and Folk to help build relationships among the interns.

“The dinners started this year because last year we felt like we didn’t get to see each other a lot outside of meetings,” said Folk, a sophomore in business. “It’s really great because you get to sit down and actually get to know people.”

Interns are also able to make connections through the program by working with upperclassmen and the USG executive board.

“I used to think that you don’t just go up and talk to the president but now it’s like having a conversation with friends,” Stevenson said.

Folk said though an internship with USG is not required to run for senate, many freshman interns run for office in the spring or apply for a cabinet position within student government.

Mary Dannemiller can be reached at [email protected].