The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) congratulates Sarah Larson, co-leader of the AHI’s Undergraduate Fellows Program, on her receipt of a summer internship with the Manhattan Institute.  Considered by many analysts to be the premier organization for the study of urban public policy in the United States, the Manhattan Institute plays a vital role “in shaping American political culture and developing ideas that foster economic choice and individual responsibility.”  The Koch Summer Fellow Program of the Charles G. Koch Foundation awarded Sarah a grant to support the internship.

AHI Undergraduate Fellow Sarah Larson

AHI Undergraduate Fellow Sarah Larson

Sarah, from West Des Moines, Iowa, attends Hamilton College where she is a junior history major and leader of the College’s Republican Club.  She will be working within the Manhattan Institute at the Center for State and Local leadership.  It focuses on such issues as “public finance, public education, and the delivery of public services.”  “I will be working with policy greats such as Michael Allegreti,” said Sarah.  “The Koch Summer Fellow Program is a great fit for me, and I feel blessed to have landed the fellowship, especially with MI as the partner organization. The Koch Summer Fellow Program, ran this year (for the first time) by the Charles Koch Institute, ‘uniquely combines policy work experience with professional education through a rigorous nine-week program.’”

“A major upside to the program,” she added, “is a generous stipend and two week-long seminars (one during the first week of the fellowship, the second during the last week of the fellowship) in Washington, D.C., courtesy of the Charles Koch Institute. During the first of the two week-long seminars, all KSFP fellows ‘will study market-based policy analysis and its intellectual foundations, attend career sessions on topics such as networking, public speaking, interviewing techniques and resume writing, and have the chance to meet and get to know other fellows through a variety of discussion groups and workshops.’  Throughout the summer, ‘a professional editor is assigned to work with fellows on several writing projects such as letters to the editor and opinion-editorials. . . . Fellows also participate in a team research projects on a policy issue of their choice. The teams present their work during the final week-long seminar and are cross-examined by policy experts and their peers.’”

Sarah, who has now won two Koch fellowships, recalled her interview for the position by Michael Allegreti.  “When he grilled me on my beliefs and knowledge of policy during my interview, he did not apologize for the prodding. “  AHI Academic Advisor Maurice Isserman has been supervising Sarah during the spring semester as part of Hamilton College’s New York City Program.   “One of the great things about directing the New York City program this spring,” Isserman observed, “is getting to know students outside a classroom setting.  Because of that I’ve come to see that along with her intellectual gifts, Sarah Larson is a very kind and generous person.  On our walking tours of New York this spring, she was always (literally) stopping to help little old ladies cross the street, and that sort of thing.  The students on the program have an unusually close bond, and Sarah is part of the glue that has made that happen.”

“Since the day as a wide-eyed freshman when she arrived at the AHI to participate in its programming, “ added AHI Charter Fellow Robert Paquette, “Sarah had the look of a natural-born leader.  She possesses boundless energy and has profited from a rock-bed set of traditional values drawn from the free-stone quarries of Middle America.  When she encounters difficulties, she does not whine, claim victim status, or blame the system.  She takes criticism, looks within, and works harder to make herself better.  She has success written all over her.”