With seven interns, UTM was well represented during the second half of the 102nd General Assembly. In fact, it had the most interns of any University of Tennessee system school.

Students began competing during the fall 2001 school year for a chance to be a 2002 legislative intern. Martin students first competed in a campus interview, which were conducted by past interns and faculty. Only the top three were selected to go to Nashville for a state interview. But in the end, Martin had seven representatives.

The interns lived and worked in Nashville from Jan. 7 to May 31, along with approximately 90 other interns from 20 different schools all over Tennessee.

While in Nashville, the UTM interns worked with legislators, analyzing bills, conducting research and obtaining information from legislative or administrative offices.

“I am back in Nashville now, using a lot of the networking opportunities I made as an intern,” said Jocelyn Adkins, UTM alumni and past legislative intern for Rep. Mark Maddox's office, “The legislative internship experience is not like anything a student would imagine.”

Along with a stipend, academic credit, and the benefits of working with politicians, the interns also participate in a plethora of academic activities.

They hear cases at the Tennessee Supreme Court, visit death row at Nashville's prison, and listen to speakers, such as Wendell Gilbert, deputy to the governor for Homeland Security , and Sara Kyle, chairman of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

“I highly recommend it to anyone interested in government,” said Chris Wilson, UTM alumni and first year law student at the University of Memphis. “The knowledge I gained from my experience could have never been taught from a book or in a classroom setting.”

In April, the interns debated the issues in order to obtain the positions of intern governor, speaker, and speaker pro-temp.

UTM’s Tyson Saltwell, a senior Political Science major, ran for governor; senior Jeremy Elrod ran for speaker.
Jeremy Elrod won intern speaker of the house and proudly represented UTM during a mock session on the House floors, as other interns presented legislation on everything from intern parking to amending the constitution.

Outside of the office, interns held food drives, walked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, attended hockey and basketball games, played the legislators in basketball and attended many social functions.

For students wanting more information, Tennessee legislative internship coordinator Donna Morgan, will be visiting UTM on Tuesday, Sept. 17; she will be in the Boling University Center room 229, at 3 p.m.

The legislative internship experience is a great one and applications are currently being accepted until Oct. 7, for those with an interest in the legislative process.

All students participating must have junior, senior, or graduate status with a 3.0 GPA and be a Tennessee citizen.

Applications are available though Dr. Mosch at tmosch@utm.edu or at 225 Business Administration.