Nigerian Wins Internship for US Congress; More to come!

19-year-old Nigerian student in the United States, Miss Mma Okafor, has won a scholarship with three other American students to learn and work in Washington D.C under a new university-established congressional internship programme.
Okafor of Northern Illinois University (NIU) will be attached to Congressman Daniel Lipinski, an Illinois congressman of the Third District and report to work for more than 40 hours per week and complete the internship by August.
The other winners are Hunter Huffman and Matthew Venaas and each will be given $5,000 to defray the costs associated with the internships. The three NIU students will live in houses provided by George Washington University, located in the centre of Washington, D.C., just a short walk from the Capitol.
Okafor hopes to return to Nigeria one day and contribute to political developments.
Her words: ““I am interested in politics in Nigeria. I hope to return home and change the political system through grassroots involvement in politics just like President Obama has done here. But also on a broader scale, my goal is to advocate for development in Africa as a whole, through microfinance and other similar programmes.”
She added: “The focal point of my life, having come from humble means myself, is centred on giving back to the poor.”
Huffman will intern with U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo (16th District); and Venaas with U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (14th District). Each of the students will report to work on May 25.
“At NIU, we value experiential learning,” a statement from the university quoted President John Peters, who is a political scientist by training, specializing in studies of public policy and Congress as saying: “These scholarships will allow some of our top students to work in the halls of Congress, network with our nation’s movers and shakers and participate in the inner workings of our democracy.”
NIU Political Scientist Matthew Streb and Department Chair Christopher Jones worked with President Peters and Vice-President for External Affairs Kathryn Buettner to establish the scholarship programme.
“This is simply an opportunity that we can’t provide in the classroom,” Streb said. “I can teach the theories of Congress, but I can’t show students the experience. And, from the point of view of members of Congress, it’s a great programme because we're giving them top-notch interns.”
“We’re hoping to expand the programme a year from now,” Streb added. “We already have lawmakers lined up.”
The scholarships are competitive. More than 20 highly qualified students applied for the three internships this summer.
Each of the scholarship winners is not only a top student but also is highly involved in university and service activities.
Born in Minnesota and raised in Nigeria, Okafor is a junior honors student (she started at NIU at age 16), majoring in political science with a minor in economics. She is a member of the NIU debate team and has been active in tutoring and peer advisory.