How She Got That Internship is a series that highlights conservative women’s internships in various organizations and positions to inspire the next generation of conservative women to lead. Did you, or a young woman that you know, have an internship experience you want to share with our readers? Submit it in this form and we will contact you if we think it would be a great fit for the series. 

Summer is perhaps the best time for young leaders to invest in themselves by gaining valuable work experience, namely through internships. As summer comes to a close and fall looms ahead, FFL is sitting down with a number interns to reflect on this year’s highlights and encourage more young leaders to apply for next year’s internships!

Lexie Bess is a passionate college conservative and previous guest on Fox and Friends. She shares conservative videos on her Facebook page and is a contributor for multiple student-led news organizations such as Campus Reform, Future Female Leaders, Red Alert Politics, and the Precedent. Her focus is constitutional values such as the First and Second Amendment, veterans, and encouraging young conservatives to voice their opinions. She is currently an intern at the Heritage Foundation under their Young Leaders Program and works with the video production department to produce Daily Signal videos as well as their four different podcast shows.

How did you find out about the position, and why did you decide to apply?

I found out about the position by searching online for internships in the D.C. area. The Heritage Foundation popped up. Once I realized the work that their video production team was able to produce, I knew I needed to apply and be a member of their team. This internship would give me the hands on experience I needed, and that’s why I ultimately applied.

What was the driving force behind choosing to work at as a Heritage Foundation intern?

The driving force behind choosing to work at The Heritage Foundation was the hands on experience as well as the work that The Heritage Foundation does. They are undeniably one of the top conservative think tanks and I knew I needed to be apart of the team.

Describe a typical day at your internship.

A typical day at my internship is never the same as the previous day. I wake up around 7:30 to start my day, and leave the Heritage internship housing at 8:50 to arrive at work (which is literally right next door) by 8:55. I spend the first hour getting settled in, grabbing coffee, and answering emails about projects I worked on the previous day or asking questions about the upcoming day. During the day I am usually working on a video project for our Facebook page “Let Freedom Speak,” which is a part of The Daily Signal. The first video project I ever worked on during my internship currently has over 20 million views, which is a major accomplishment. Around 3 p.m. I am in our recording studio producing our daily podcast for The Daily Signal, which explains the top headlines of the day. The program in charge of interns at The Heritage Foundation is called the Young Leaders Program. As part of the internship, we have programming designed to teach interns about the principles of conservatism, we have policy briefings from experts, and we have skill development sessions that touch on different areas of professional life and how to develop those areas. We have at least one of these programs in our schedule every day.

RELATED READ: How I Got That Internship: House of Representatives Edition

What has been the most rewarding aspect of working for The Heritage Foundation?

The most rewarding aspect of working at Heritage is being trusted with big projects. I’ve been trusted to be the camera person for multiple interviews without supervision, as well as being trusted with an entire video production process with a deadline. It is very special to find an internship where your supervisors trust you to do things on your own.

What was the biggest WOW moment of your internship?

The biggest WOW moment for me was when my first video I produced for The Daily Signal broke a million views in only a few hours. It was the first thing I had produced that was clean and professional, and I was seeing the benefits of working hard.

Looking back over your time in the internship, what’s been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as a result of your time working for The Heritage Foundation?

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to take criticism and turn it into something that you can fix instead of letting it become something that brings you down. If your supervisor is hard on you or if someone you’re working with is giving you criticism, it’s because they see something in you that they know can be better. That’s why they are giving you that criticism in the first place. Don’t let it get you down. Allow it to build you up into something that can make you better and stronger.

Would you apply to work at The Heritage Foundation again, and what advice would you give to future applicants?

I would absolutely apply to work at Heritage again. When you work here, you are so much more than just an employee, you are part of a family and that is something that is hard to come by. The advice I would give to future applicants is to take the application process seriously and to just put yourself out there. When I applied. I didn’t think I would be qualified for the job just because of the prominent experts in the building, but it turns out I was more than qualified for the position. I wouldn’t have known that I was actually qualified if I hadn’t applied. Put yourself out there and give it your best shot.

This internship is more than just an internship. I’m not known as “the intern. At Heritage, I’m known by my accomplishments. I’m trusted in my team to get difficult tasks done, and I do it with a smile because every challenge is an opportunity to learn and to grow. I’m extremely blessed to have the opportunity to intern at the Heritage Foundation, it’s been the greatest internship experience I’ve ever had.

How She Got That Internship is a series that highlights conservative women’s internships in various organizations and positions to inspire the next generation of conservative women to lead. Did you, or a young woman that you know, have an internship experience you want to share with our readers? Submit it in this form and we will contact you if we think it would be a great fit for the series. 

Isabel B
CABINET
Isabel is a Cabinet Member from the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado and is a proud CSU Ram. Next fall, Isabel will be attending Georgetown University to pursue her master's degree. She dreams of one day serving as the US President. She loves all things small government and second amendment, and is also a Turning Point USA Campus Coordinator and a proud member of PragerFORCE.