Every time we conclude a semester of The Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program (YLP), I wonder where the weeks have gone. Countless policy briefings, First Principles lectures, skill development briefings, days of Capitol Hill training, shared meals, even salsa dances (thanks, Roger Severino), not to mention all the hard work on the job...it's hard to claim this isn't the best internship in the Nation's Capital. It's always a bitter-sweet day when it all ends, and we watch our next batch of torchbearers leave to take on the world. But they've been taking on the world for years, so we have nothing but optimism. America's future is forged here at Heritage, and, man, am I honored to be a part of it.
These things don't just happen. Mary Catherine Machalec, your tireless, daily devotion to running this program is inspiring. I know and everyone knows: this isn't a job for you...this is a calling. Every day, you wake up feeling dangerous (thanks, Baker Mayfield); and you fight for all the best reasons. You fight to build humans who love humanity. Thank you. And what would YLP be without our Student Programs intern, Macy Gunnell? When pitching YLP to outside audiences, I regularly highlight that Heritage interns don't just fetch coffee and fill a headcount. They do real work. And their work is indispensable. That's why almost one-quarter of Heritage's staff is former interns. We put our money where our mouth is. Macy, you're the best of them, and these 50+ interns wouldn't have had the semester they did without you. I'm thrilled to see the places you go.
"Society...becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born." -Edmund Burke.
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1wLove this, so inspiring! 🫶