Summer at the White House

There’s no typical day working in the White House.

Chris Boggs can attest to that notion. The Radford University senior economics major spent the summer interning in the Office of Administration in the White House Information Technology department, where he assisted staff members with computer applications.

It was a unique experience that helped the aspiring lawyer and former U.S. Marine grow as a professional.

The internship “helped me to develop my customer service skills from watching how the professional staffers in White House Information Technology assisted and helped customers with anything they needed assistance,” Boggs said. “I’m sure I will be able to use the customer service skills I learned this summer in my future career field.”

The internship required Boggs to learn more each day about the operation of applications used by the Executive Office of the President.

“While the task may have been daunting, the staff was there to support me and answer any questions I had along the way,” Boggs said. “It was worthwhile, however, because once I knew the applications I was able to assist in more ways and provide help with a wider variety of issues.”

Boggs also had opportunities to work at select White House events over the summer, experiences he said he will “never forget.”

Interning for the White House Information Technology allowed Boggs to meet people from all different areas of the Executive Office of the President. “Getting to talk to them and see what it is they really do on a daily basis and learning all these different things and meeting all these different individuals was a huge opportunity for me,” he said.

Boggs credits his Radford University education for preparing him for the unique opportunities and challenges the internship provided.

“Radford University helped me become confident in my intellectual abilities and made me believe that I could figure out anything that was put in front of me,” Boggs said. “As an economics major, I had to learn a completely new way of doing things that I had never been exposed to before. Having been successful in figuring out economics with the help of my professors gave me confidence that no matter what I ended up doing in this internship, I could handle it.

“This internship has really shown me that the education I’m receiving at Radford University has prepared me to be successful once I’ve completed my degree.”

Growing up in Arlington, a stone’s throw from the nation’s capital, Boggs chose the internship because “it seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to work in the White House.

“I grew up living right outside Washington, D.C., and had never even been inside the White House complex,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to know more about how the executive branch of the U.S. government works, and this internship provided me with a firsthand look.”

Selecting and securing the internship required a lot of work and effort, and Department of Economics professors played a vital role.

“My economics professors were extremely helpful throughout the process of selecting an internship. I had interviews with different companies and agencies with offers to work at a wide array of places,” Boggs explained. “Whenever I had any questions about any place I had done an interview with, the economics faculty was more than happy to answer any of the questions that I had. If they couldn’t answer my questions, they linked me up with someone they knew to help answer the questions.”