Avery Lambert could hardly contain her excitement when listing all the opportunities she took advantage of this summer as a scholar in the Fund for American Studies’ D.C. Summer Program.
“I took public policy and economics with Ann Bradley, who worked at the CIA, doing economics on terrorism, and it was amazing,” Lambert, a senior political science major, said.
Lambert applied for the eight-week program in December 2024 after a co-worker described it as one of the best experiences of her life. Looking to add an internship to her resume and explore a career in public policy, Lambert saw the Fund for American Studies program as an ideal opportunity. Through the program, she interned with the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, took an economics course at George Mason University, and attended regular lectures from leaders in public service. Lambert also had the chance to build a strong network — connecting with peers, professionals across various levels of government, and others working in D.C. — all while gaining a firsthand look at the nation's capital.
“I knew that I wanted to be in policy in some way, shape or form, and at first, I was going into it with the attitude of, ‘I just want to get to know the public policy side of things,’” she said. “When I started there and taking all the classes and talking to different people about what they did, I realized that knowledge really is powerful.”
Lambert was among about 340 students from the United States and abroad who were selected for the summer program. Lambert was part of the public policy and economics cohort, based on the information she provided in her application. The program houses the students in dorms at George Washington University in D.C. Lambert said meeting so many students from around the world was impactful.
“I really thought I was going to be an outsider,” said Lambert, who grew up in Lincoln. “I was so nervous. But no, I clicked with people immediately.”
Through her internship at AG Bell, she worked mostly on summer camp programming, but she also got to see the inner workings of a national nonprofit organization.
“When people say they work for a nonprofit and they wear a bunch of hats, it’s so true,” she said.
Monday through Thursday, Lambert worked at her internship and had Fridays off. On Tuesday evenings, she attended her economics course, taught by Bradley, the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and vice president for academic affairs for the Fund for American Studies.
“Learning so much about economics, I definitely gained an appreciation for economists,” Lambert said. “Economics is in everything that we do.”
The program also included visits to think tanks and embassies and briefings with government officials.
“The number of people I met and connections I made — I realized I have the same connections as David Muir because he did the same internship I worked in,” Lambert said.
She branched out most evenings and took full advantage of the networking opportunities offered, including dinners, mentor mixers, small group discussions and coffee meetups. She also toured many historic and important sites in and around D.C.
“Every person I met was so open and willing to answer questions and give advice,” Lambert said. “I think my favorite piece of advice was don't try to be someone else, to sound impressive. ‘Just be yourself, because, trust me, it'll get you way further.’”
Lambert is taking that advice into her final semester at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She’ll graduate in December and the experience in D.C., provided many answers for her future, but also new questions. She still wants to go into public policy, but is not sure what that will look like, as so many avenues have been opened for her. She’s considering both graduate school and law school, with her eye on someday joining the Department of Education or becoming a professor — or maybe both.
“I’m at the point where I really need to figure out what I want to do,” she said. “I know education is really important to me, but I also see a system that needs changed. This is something I realized, and I just got more passionate about it, because if no one's going to do it, it's going to be me.”
