The Bob Graham Center, in cooperation with the University of Florida Office of Government and Community Relations, has placed 11 UF students in positions throughout Florida’s government to coincide with the 2020 Tallahassee legislative session.
The students and their placements are:
- Grace Banahan – Office of Sen. Lori Berman (D), District 31
- Britney Escoffery – Florida Supreme Court Information Office
- Andrew Goren – Ballard Partners
- Katherine Marin – Florida Supreme Court Information Office
- Jessica Martinez – Ballard Partners
- Ana Mata – Florida Department of Education
- Lauren Muse – Sen. Lauren Book (D), District 32
- Dianelda Pulido – Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, (D) District 37
- Kevin Quintana – Sen. Darryl Rouson (D), District 19
- Kayla Ratnasamy – Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of the Commissioner
- Garrett Wilkinson – Representative Jennifer Webb (D), District 69
Each year the Graham Center offers up to 15 internships throughout Florida government, including positions with the legislature, governor’s office and executive branch agencies, the news media and various associations and lobbying organizations. Since its beginning in 2009, 151 students have been placed in Tallahassee internships.
This year’s cohort of interns was selected from a competitive pool of 15 applicants and matched with positions that aligned with the applicant’s expressed policy area of interest. Interns are required to live and work in Tallahassee during the full duration of the legislative session. Below are brief profiles of two of this semester’s interns.
Kayla Ratnasamy
“Having the opportunity to intern at the Florida Capitol is an amazing chance for me to put my policy araes and knowledge to practical use,” writes Kayla Ratnasamy, a junior political science major from Tampa who will intern with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in the office of Commissioner Nikki Fried.
“I am very interested in environmental policy as it is something that Floridians deal with daily. I am passionate about promoting Florida’s agriculture and protecting the environment,” she added. Ratnasamy has previously interned with the City of Temple Terrace’s City Clerk’s office, and served as a teaching assistant for one of the University’s American constitutional law classes. She has participated in the Graham Civic Scholars Program, and presently serves as secretary of the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows.
Andrew Goren
Senior Andrew Goren, a business administration major from Tallahassee, will intern with Ballard Partners, a bipartisan lobbying and public relations firm with offices in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.
“I prefer to work in a lobbying firm because this is my intended career path,” Goren writes. “I feeel that working with a firm as a student, will provide me with valuable experience with the political system as well as a realistic expection of that career.”
Goren is a former Realtor with Berkshire-Hathaway Home Services, has served as a senator with the UF Student Government, and has been a participant of the Florida Blue Key speech and debate tournament. He has some political experience lobbying politicians on solar energy legislation and school safety legislation, but his academic course schedule at UF has not permitted him to take a semester off to pursue a Tallahassee intership until now.
“Although I have lobbied on a couple pieces of legislation, I don’t feel like I have gained the experience of what it would be like to work as a lobbyist full time during the fast-paced, high stressed environment. This is where this internship would be an incredible learning and developing opportunity for me. Not only would it give me a clearer picture of what a lobbyist’s job is day to day but it will also give me the opportunity to develop my understnding of the legislative process with a field I am already looking to go into.”
Jessica Martinez
Sophomore Jessica Martinez, a political science major, will also intern with Ballard Partners. She hopes her internship gives her the chance to learn more about how key players work together to make change in the state of Florida.
Kevin Quintana
Based on his interest in criminal procedure and law, Kevin Quintana aspires to attend law school after he graduates from UF in Spring of 2021. He is pursuing a major in criminiology and a minor in philosophy. and law. Quintana is a student case coordinator in the university’s office e of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution. He is certified in bilingual literacy from Miami-Dade public schools. Quintana will serve as an aide in the office of Sen. Darryl Rouson (D), District 19.
“I advocate for the Gator Nation by projecting the knowledge, skills and values, and goals that UF has given me onto my own community. I hope to reflect the excellent standards the Gator Nation represents.”