Panetta Scholar learns to solve real-world issues through D.C. internship
All through high school, and now at Cal State Fullerton, Sophia Darvish has always sought out opportunities that enrich her mind and help shape her passions.
Among the most fulfilling of those opportunities for Darvish, who is in her fourth semester at CSUF, was her participation in the Panetta Congressional Internship Program.
As a Panetta Scholar, Darvish, a criminal justice major, spent the Fall 2023 semester in an 11-week internship in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C.
The Panetta Institute was founded and is co-directed by Leon Panetta and his wife, Sylvia. Panetta served in several Democratic administrations as Secretary of Defense, director of the CIA and White House Chief of Staff.
As part of the internship, congressional representatives, along with state and local elected officials, taught the interns policy issues related to income inequity, inflation, health care and Middle East politics.
The first two weeks of the internship took place in August at Cal State Monterey Bay, where the interns attended lectures, including lectures given by Panetta himself.
“We were learning all about the government and bipartisanship and basically how things work,” Darvish said. “And then we were sent to D.C. and spent 11 weeks there working full time for a member of the House of Representatives.”
In Washington, Darvish worked as a legislative intern for U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal of California’s 24th District, which encompasses portions of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Her duties included preparing and maintaining reports and memos, drafting letters to constituents, organizing messages from constituents, answering phone calls, attending briefings and giving tours of the U.S. Capitol building.
Only 25 students from the CSU system, Santa Clara University, St. Mary’s College of California and Dominican University of California are selected for the internship.
Students’ housing, tuition and travel are funded by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.
Darvish also drafted and wrote co-sponsored recommendations for the congressman on bills related to voting rights, criminal justice reform, civil rights and LGBTQ rights.
To be considered for the internship, each candidate intern had to have an exemplary scholastic record along with an interest in politics, policy and public service.
Darvish also had to participate in several rounds of interviews with university officials, culminating with an interview with then CSUF President Fram Virjee, who recommended Darvish for the internship.
“I was surrounded by some of the most powerful and important people at Cal State Fullerton,” Darvish said of the interviews. “They were really there just to hear about me and learn about me. I felt supported and uplifted by them.”
In his letter to Darvish informing her of his recommendation, Virjee wrote:
“Sophia, I wish you much success and thank you in advance for aspiring to represent Cal State Fullerton in this very prestigious position. As you know, this is a highly competitive process, and I congratulate you on your outstanding application and interview. I know you will have an amazing experience in this program and am also confident that you will represent CSUF in an outstanding manner.”
Darvish was then interviewed by members of the Panetta Institute.
Before earning the Panetta Congressional Internship, Darvish participated in a fellowship with the Progressive Turnout Project, which focuses its efforts on mobilizing the Democratic Party and motivating Democrats to exercise their right to vote.
Darvish also completed an internship with U.S. Representative and CSUF alum Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, where she was the first line of communication with constituents and assisted with casework updates and directing calls to appropriate resources.
“I just try to apply to anything and everything that piques my interest, and hopefully I can do a better interview with that job or other internships,” she said.
As the daughter of Iranian immigrants, Darvish began taking an interest in public affairs and government while a student at nearby El Dorado High School, where she was involved with several campus clubs.
Darvish was a member of ASB and participated in Mock Trial and in the ED Law Academy, where students received a primer on the legal profession through coursework and in-person meetings with attorneys and judges.
“I was always listening to podcasts and reading up on the news,” Darvish said. “So, I think that’s what made me so engaged, especially my experiences in high school impacted my interest in the whole field.”
She became more impassioned with criminal justice reform from reading two books: “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson and “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander.
Both titles deal with injustices in the criminal justice system.
“Those two books got me even more interested in criminal justice … in the whole process,” Darvish said. “It’s such a real-world thing. You really have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.”
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