IB student selected for congressional internship in Washington, D.C.

During his first week working in Congress, his assignment was to write a letter to a constituent — it was something he’d never done before. He received a crash course on how to do it. He had to get it done.

Dean Benner, fourth-year international business major (with emphasis in Western European history/Spanish), and Weber Honors College interdisciplinary studies minor, was the San Diego State University awardee for the 2025 Panetta Institute for Public Policy Congressional Internship where he quickly discovered he would learn by doing.

The annual program sends to Washington, D.C. 25 students from all the CSUs, St. Mary’s College, Dominican University of California, and Santa Clara University where they work with representatives of the California delegation in a life-changing internship experience.

Benner spent nearly three months working for Congressman Jim Costa, of the 21st Congressional District who represents the San Joaquin Valley in the United States House of Representatives.

Benner’s internship work involved hosting tours, pulling press clippings, sorting mail, attending briefings and giving summaries of bills coming up for vote. “It’s balancing all that, and while being in session — so everything's moving very fast,” Benner said.

Here he shares the highlights of his internship journey. 

What was your impetus to apply for this internship?

I was always interested in working in public policy, especially in foreign affairs, hence my international business focus.

The experience of going to CSU Monterey Bay at the start, and to meet all these public policy experts and learn so much from them, and then to get to live in Washington, D.C. for three months — to completely be immersed in the culture of living in Washington, D.C. was great. I found out what it's like to be a cog of the machine that is Capitol Hill. I really wanted to see what's behind the curtain.

What are key takeaways from your time in D.C.?

I think what I took away is that people are more willing to work across the aisle than what's shown in the media. I think everyone on Capitol Hill really is working for the same team at the end of the day.

One of my concerns going in was the political temperature, but I think everyone is trying their best, at least in the House of Representatives, to really represent their constituency, despite which side of the political spectrum you're on, and I think that's what connects everyone.

Did any experience stick with you from your time on Capitol Hill?

I went to an event hosted by the Progressive Policy Institute, during a government shutdown and I attended a briefing on the Russian-Ukrainian war, where I was able to meet the ambassador of Estonia to the United States, one-on-one, and have a little chat with him. I thought that was very interesting. 

Favorite senators, or somebody that you really wanted to meet while interning?

I never expected to meet any representatives other than mine, because it's really hard to get face-to-face with them. But I'm really glad I did get to see Bernie Sanders in person! One day I was going on a random errand in the Capitol building, maybe dropping off some mail and I saw Bernie Sanders walk by. Growing up, I always saw him on TV, when he was running for president back in 2016. Almost 10 years later, seeing him working on the same campus — it was surreal.

What are your career goals?

My goals are to hopefully end up working in foreign affairs — public policy adjacent. And, then maybe, hopefully, going back to D.C. in the future, whether that's working in Foreign Affairs, like the Department of State, or a different agency. I keep chasing public policy wherever I may be able to fit in.

What's great about my internship is now I have a portfolio that I can show future employers. I have multiple letters I've written to constituents and multiple summaries of briefings.

Why would you recommend the international business program at SDSU?

I think international business is a good background for working in Congress, because it is an interdisciplinary degree. In international business, you have marketing classes, finance, European history, Spanish — all these different subjects that you’ll encounter in Congress. 

One day you'll be working on a bill on foreign affairs, and then the next day you're doing housing policy, and then the next is healthcare, and then the next is just jumping from subject to subject all the time, so it's very important to be multifaceted — to be able to understand a little bit about everything and bring it all together comprehensively.

I think it is very valuable to have knowledge that is as broad as possible. You don't need to be an expert on one subject, but it's very important to know a little bit about everything — which is what international business and interdisciplinary studies in the Honors College helped me prepare for.