USD students in Denver for Democratic National Convention
Karl Giuseffi of Spearfish, S.D., Tom Kludt of Huron, S.D., and Allison Struck of Yankton, S.D., will also be at the Pepsi Center during the first three days of the convention working as interns for various groups, including state delegations, host committees, interest groups and media organizations such as CNN, Fox News, Univision, Newsweek and many others. The three USD students spent a week prior to the convention attending classes, lectures and other activities educating them on the process and the significance of the convention.
More than 350 students from 116 colleges and universities from 42 states and the District of Columbia as well as Australia, Canada, Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Spain are attending the convention. Giuseffi, Kludt and Struck were nominated to attend the convention by professors from the USD Political Science Department. The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that provides college students with specialized internship opportunities, ultimately selected the three USD juniors for the nearly two-week experience.
Giuseffi is a political science and Spanish major while Kludt and Struck are double majoring in both political science and history. In addition to hearing from political leaders and experts, Giuseffi, Kludt and Struck will also tour Denver, have an opportunity to meet with members of their local delegation and spend more than six hours each day volunteering with an organization that has a vested interest in the convention and its outcome. The students will also have unique behind-the-scenes access to several events throughout the convention.
A photograph of Tom Kludt, Karl Giuseffi and Allison Struck is available for download at www.usd.edu/urelations/images/2008_DNC.jpg.