Dr. David Pottie, associate director of the Democracy Program and Danielle’s supervisor, says the office at the Carter Center relies heavily on interns and has relatively few permanent staff. Because of this, interns carry much responsibility at the Carter Center, and the positions are competitive and prestigious. 

Much of Danielle’s time in Georgia was spent researching, synthesizing and editing the final report of the Carter Center’s 2010 election observation mission in Guinea. Containing both a summary of the mission and recommendations to make future elections more free and fair, the report is meant to be a resource to government officials, donor organizations, and political parties in Guinea and internationally. “The ultimate beneficiary of the report is meant to be the citizenry of the country,” says Dr. Pottie. 

In addition to working on the report, Danielle monitored the political situation in five other countries, reading news online and preparing updates. “The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was one of the countries that I was monitoring, and then it became a potential project,” says Danielle. The Democracy Program sent an assessment mission to the Congo at the end of April to conduct meetings and determine whether it can send a delegation to observe the country’s elections scheduled for November 2011. “Because it fell within the time of my internship, I was fortunate to be invited to travel with the team,” says Danielle. 

She spent a week in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. In that time, the delegation from the Carter Center conducted over twenty meetings with government officials, political leaders, and groups from civil society. All the meetings were conducted in French – not a problem for Danielle, who is fluent. “Having the overseas experience was amazing,” she says. “It’s a different story when you’re actually there.” 

The people she met were another highlight of her co-op term, says Danielle. Other interns in the program came from all over the world and many had experience in international work like the Peace Corps. She also met President Jimmy Carter himself. Interns were treated to a trip to his hometown in Plains, Georgia, where he spoke with them about his upbringing and his career in politics. 

This summer, Danielle is finishing the final stages of her thesis on corporate social responsibility and labour conditions in Mexico’s maquiladoras. Her experience at the Carter Center will be key to her job search once she graduates. “I wanted to get experience working in the non-governmental sector before I graduated,” she says. “This internship was a great opportunity to explore the work opportunities in the field, outside of academia.” 

Read more about the Carter Center.