For 25 years, the University of California has been providing its students a fast track to the heart of Washington, D.C.
At the UC Washington Center, celebrating its 25th anniversary on Sept. 30, hundreds of students each year spend a term not just learning in classrooms but also through internships that can help set the stage for an entire career.
As interns in the program, students build community and make connections across Capitol Hill and Washington, D.C. The impact of the program is lasting — many alumni now work in government and policy, including through careers in Congress, federal agencies, national organizations and journalism.
They arrive as students and leave with something that can be harder to get in a classroom: firsthand experience with the people and institutions shaping national policy, plus relationships that can open doors to entirely new careers.
Crunching the numbers
In the past five years alone ...
UCDC hosted nearly 3,000 undergraduate students who served 900,000 intern hours in the program across nearly 600 internship sites.
37% of UCDC students were the first in their families to go to college.
30% of UCDC students were transfers.
UCDC students hailing from all 9 undergraduate campuses represented 195 different majors.
A hub of meaningful work
UCDC is part of a larger UC presence in Washington.
The UC Washington Center also houses UC’s federal governmental relations team, connecting the University with Congress, federal agencies and the administration. UC faculty and researchers regularly bring their expertise to Washington, engaging policymakers on issues ranging from science and technology to health, education and the environment. And with plenty of UC alumni serving in the nation’s capital— 25 currently serve in Congress, with hundreds more driving policy and shaping the future of the nation — the program provides a unique opportunity to show students how far their passion for public service can take them.
Four difference-making UC alumni below describe how their time in DC shaped their journeys — and the ways their UC experience helped shape their careers in public service today.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta, UC Davis alumnus
U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta
A former Naval Intelligence officer, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) has had a varied and impactful career in public service — which he traces to UC.
“My time in the ‘Davis in DC’ internship program, the predecessor to the UCDC program, was the foundation for my future in public service,” Rep. Panetta said. An international relations major while at UC Davis, Rep. Panetta was thrilled to be placed in an internship at the U.S. Department of State in the fall of 1991. But it was more than just the internship that changed his life.
“It really was the time in our nation’s capital that bolstered my sense of service and contributed to my understanding of what I needed to do and where I needed to go in order to continue my path forward,” Rep. Panetta said. “Everything that I have done since has a connection to that fall quarter internship, including my time aboard a NOAA research vessel, attending law school, being a prosecutor, serving in the U.S. Navy, and now, my service in the U.S. Congress representing my home in California. Although my internship only lasted a couple of months, it set the tone for the next few decades of my life.”
Meredith Turner, UC Santa Cruz alumna
Meredith Turner, senior vice president for External Relations and Communications at the University of California Office of the President
A proud UC Santa Cruz alumna and leader of communications and government relations for the entire University of California system, Turner’s strong connection to California called her back to serve the Golden State — but her experience in Washington helped inform her entire career. While at UCDC, Turner introduced herself to Rep. Sam Farr, the Congressman then representing UC Santa Cruz, whose conversation with Turner and other UC Santa Cruz students over lunch at the Capitol she remembers to this day. “I credit participating in UCDC with furthering my passion for politics and policy,” Turner said. She returned to California, working for state Sen. Lou Correa — “a direct line to my time at UCDC” — and ultimately shifting to a broader portfolio of communications and government relations.
“UCDC is an exceptional program,” Turner said. “Lean into your time there. Work hard at your internship, raise your hand, meet as many people as possible. You won’t get another experience like it again, and we’re incredibly fortunate to have such an opportunity as part of a UC education.”
Jennifer Nieto, UC Davis alumna
Jennifer Nieto, head of U.S. Federal Government Relations at Solventum
Not many people can say they have helped craft legislation that changed lives — including their own. But UC Davis alumna Jennifer Nieto, who started her career as a public affairs intern for NASA through UCDC, has done just that. Inspired by UCDC to book a ticket to Washington, D.C., after graduation (one-way!), Nieto began working as a staff assistant for her hometown congresswoman, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Silicon Valley), eventually becoming her legislative assistant for health issues. Nieto built a two decades-long career in public health policy and advocacy, raising a family in Capitol Hill along the way. Then, in March 2024, Nieto was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
“As a personal and professional advocate for science and research, I chose to participate in a clinical trial for a new therapy for MS,” she said. “My greatest professional milestone may be when the trial coordinator was describing what would happen to all of the personal medical information collected as part of the trial. She asked me, ‘Are you familiar with a law called the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act?’ And I replied ‘yes, I helped write it!’”
“The UC Washington Center Program was the most formative part of my college experience,” Nieto added. “It created a pathway to clearly identify and pursue my personal and professional dreams and goals.”
David W. Burns
David W. Burns, assistant executive director at the United States Conference of Mayors
Internships can kickstart careers. Just ask UCLA alumnus David W. Burns. More than 20 years after his UCDC internship with the United States Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan association of cities with population of 30,000 and larger, Burns remains on staff — now as one of its leaders. Burns got his start as a member of the education policy team for the organization, then leveraged his background in IT to help the organization build out its innovation and technology policy portfolios. “Today, I am fortunate to be a member of the organization’s senior leadership team,” Burns said. “One of the best things is that our organization has continued to accept University of California interns this entire time.”
“UCLA and UCDC have both played an incredible role in my life,” Burns said. “The experience of being in DC for the summer and the warmth of the UCLA Alumni Network chapter here made me realize that I could build a life here in DC.” To the undergrads considering UCDC today, Burns says, “Your time is now. We need younger people at the table more than any other time in recent history. Politics and government have changed so much in the last 25 years that it’s important that we all remember we have an important role to play in shaping the future of our country, no matter how big or small we think that role may be.”
