Taking the risk of applying for an internship can be frightening for any student. When Adriana Matsumoto, now a senior studying political science and Latina/Latino studies, applied for her internship with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, she was not only following a goal to work on important legislative issues like immigration, but she was the first in her family to get such a role.

“You don’t often see people with backgrounds like mine. Both my parents are immigrants, and my dad didn’t have the opportunity to graduate high school, so being on Capitol Hill was completely uncharted territory,” Matsumoto said. “I struggled a lot with imposter syndrome coming into the internship, but I had to remind myself that I earned this internship for a reason and the whole point for me to be in this program was to learn and to gain experience.”

Matsumoto spent spring 2024 working for Durbin. She challenged herself to throw herself into the internship even though she had felt uncertain. Matsumoto is a first-generation Latina-Asian American student. She has pursued experiences that propel her desire to serve in government and represent her cultural community.  

Before her D.C. internship, Matsumoto interned for Illinois State Rep. Elisabeth Hernandez and U.S. Rep. Jesús Chuy Garcia of Illinois. In both roles, she aided with campaigns and events that focused on immigration and local community organizations.

It didn’t take long for her to feel sure about herself when she arrived at Capitol Hill to work in Durbin’s office. Her main responsibilities were tracking and compiling health updates across Illinois and meeting with Illinois constituent organizations. It was a unique opportunity for Matsumoto.

“Working in governmental affairs was surreal, walking past leaders I’d admired for years, and building friendships with fellow interns and people from various organizations added so much to the experience,” Matsumoto said. “Conducting research on issues close to my heart, like healthcare disparities, was deeply fulfilling, and being in D.C. kept me immersed in current events, giving me a richer, firsthand perspective on the stories we usually see only in the news.”

She added: “As a first-generation Latina-Asian college student, one major takeaway from this experience was the realization of the underrepresentation of people like me in the legislative system,” Matsumoto said. “Being one of the few people of color, highlighted the lack of diversity in policymaking roles and served as a strong motivator for me. It reinforced the idea that we deserve to make ourselves known in these spaces and that there is still so much work to be done to ensure diverse voices are represented in legislative discussions.”

Editor's note: This story originally appeared on the College of LAS website. Adriana Matsumoto also wrote about her experience in an internship spotlight. Learn more about her experience.