David Seibel '11 - This summer I was the finance intern at the Marion County Democratic Party headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. I gained a lot of great experience from this internship and am very glad I decided to take this position. I particularly enjoyed working with the party’s finances and meeting various elected officials throughout the city. On the whole, this was a fantastic experience

My favorite thing to do at the party headquarters was work with the financial database. The party receives contributions from various people that I would enter into the database to stay in compliance with Indiana law. I also entered all expenditures into this database. Then, I would analyze how we were spending the money we were receiving. I found out that the party was making very efficient use of their money. My Economics major and experience in Microsoft Excel was vital to the work I did with the party. It was a great feeling to know that my studies at Wabash are really useful in the real world!
I also really enjoyed meeting new people. Adam Kirsch, a Wabash alum and executive director of the party, gave myself and the other interns the chance to meet some very important people in the city. It was really neat to hear them talk about their careers and how they got to their current positions. A lot of them were nice enough to give me their contact information which could be useful for me in the future. It is great to know that I have connections with some pretty important people. Although I did not meet him personally, I got a chance to hear Bill Clinton speak at a dinner I attended.

Some things that I did not enjoy were drafting letters and sending out mailings. These letters were sent out so that the party could receive contributions from its members. Without these contributions, the party headquarters would not be able to operate so it was important that the Democrats in Indianapolis received the letters. Although it was a good feeling knowing I was helping the party receive money, it was still a lackluster task.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed my experience with the Marion County Democratic Party and would recommend it to anyone interested in finance or politics. I am glad I got a chance to meet the people that I did and complete the work I was assigned. I also built some great friendships with the other interns. I now have a better understanding of the political system as well