By Lisa Zhao ’23

As I sat in my childhood bedroom completing my “Washington, D.C.- based” internship with the Duke Office of Government Relations, it felt like I was watching the world fall apart around me. Each day, I saw the death toll rise, watched cities go up in flames, and heard stories of small businesses closing permanently—all while I couldn’t even go to the grocery store.

This untraditional year created an interesting backdrop for Congress. It felt like every virtual hearing I attended, regardless of the topic, referenced the pandemic and growing movement against systemic racism. Everyone seemed to agree on one thing: we are at a critical point in history. We have a unique opportunity to build back better, and we must use it to protect vulnerable populations that were historically overlooked. Members of Congress repeatedly emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic did not create more inequalities; it only exposed and exacerbated systematic conditions that have existed in the U.S. from the beginning.

Over the summer, I focused on how environmental justice and STEM education can be reformed to be more equitable. Completing this work parallel to the uproar of the Black Lives Matter movement and stark inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes gave me a more comprehensive and urgent perspective of my work. After studying issues related to equity in science policy, it became clear that most problems are related and build on one another. I’ve learned that while science can provide us with data about the effects of institutional racism on different communities, it requires informed policy to address the issue head-on.

I had this privilege to intern in policy during such a critical moment because of the Duke Engage program. In a typical year, Duke Engage sends cohorts of around 10 interns to different areas of the world for service projects, including the Washington D.C. cohort, which specializes in science policy. However, all projects were moved online in the wake of the pandemic.

Thomas Williams, the Duke Engage DC cohort leader, explained that the isolation and online format made it very challenging to develop group dynamics and other enrichment aspects of the program. He said, “This really limits the space in which students are thinking about the work they’re doing and how it connects to policy, history, and place.”

Although it sometimes felt isolating to complete my internship from my laptop, I knew that I wasn’t alone. The other 7 interns from the DC cohort of Duke Engage were also participating in internships virtually during this historical moment in our lives.

James Zheng, who interned with the Margolis Center for Health Policy, expressed his gratitude to have the opportunity to work in policy during the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. 

“It’s shown me just how interconnected many of these policy issues are – for example, there is a ton of work describing and analyzing race/ethnicity disparities in health outcomes,” said Zheng, “It’s mostly nonmedical factors (i.e. socioeconomic status, homelessness) that have been contributing to these differences.”

Megan Wang, who interned with the Global American Business Institute, felt there was not enough conversation about institutional racism in energy policy. She explained how that motivated her to “emphasize its importance in the work I do in the energy space”.

Additionally, while the pandemic restricted important face-to-face interactions, Wang was glad she had the ability to tune into workshops easily and re-watch recordings to gain a deeper understanding of the content.

It was a very unusual time to be interning in science policy, but we have all found our own silver linings. At the very least, it seems everyone is glad to have some work to keep them sane during the unexpected quarantine this summer.