"The first few years I only had a few students placed in local government departments, but as the years went on the list of students looking for internships began to grow," he said. "Now I have anywhere from 15-25 placed each spring semester and my goal is to get to 1,000 students placed in internships."
The event in Lansing gave Dr. Houghton and former interns a chance to reconnect and share their stories.
"I first met Dr. Houghton at the beginning of my senior year at WMU," said former intern Melissa Cupp. "In the fall of that year I changed my major, like so many college students do, and met with Dr. Houghton in a panic, not knowing what I should pursue. After a discussion about my interests and experiences, he suggested I explore health policy and recommended I utilize the capital internship program to do so. He was instrumental in helping me obtain an internship at Wiener Associates 13 years ago, where I am now a partner and practicing healthcare administrative law. Without Dr. Houghton’s guidance I can’t imagine I would have found my way into this career that I absolutely love."
Dr. Houghton spoke to the group about his vision for the internship program's future and explained about the goal of getting more students into internships at Washington D.C.
"To date we've had 26 students do internships in Washington," he said. "However it's my dream to have the funds available to be able to give numerous more the opportunity to intern in our nation's Capitol."
To learn more about Dr. Houghton and the beginning of the internship program, please follow the link below:
MYWMU.COM - DAVID G. HOUGHTON INTERNSHIP ENDOWMENT