I wish every Mackinac Center donor could spend time with the college interns we bring to the organization every summer.
We still do it the old-school way: They come to the office every day. We expect them to dress and act professionally. We give them meaningful, challenging work and train them in the issues the Mackinac Center works on.
Hundreds of interns have come our way over the years. The Mackinac Center is the launching point for a wide array of careers: lawyers, academics, think tank leaders, congressional staffers, recruiters, lobbyists, PR professionals, research fellows, fundraisers and teachers. Our interns have gone on to work at the White House, the FDA, Mercatus Center, Tax Foundation, Amazon, Hillsdale College and the U.S. Senate, not to mention multiple positions here at Mackinac.
This summer’s 12 interns came to Mackinac from nine colleges: Michigan State, Northern Michigan, Hillsdale, Wheaton, Northwood, Saginaw Valley State, Cornerstone, Grove City College and Calvin University.
As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, many Mackinac supporters remember the bicentennial celebration in 1976. But our interns are in the generation that will celebrate the tricentennial in 2076.
So, I asked them two questions: What makes you optimistic about America? And what makes you concerned?
I was struck by their answers.
They have confidence in America’s ability to endure. Cate Welch, our fiscal policy intern from Wheaton College, acknowledged that it is easy to get caught up in predictions that America won’t last another 250 years. History tells her otherwise.
“We are a gritty, proud and willing nation,” she said, “and I am very confident that those principles will continue to guide us through my generation and the generations to come.”
Natalie Hansen called America’s ability to “debate, change, and improve” one of our greatest strengths. Charlie Van Beek pointed to our culture of innovation: “This is not a place that is comfortable with just ‘getting by.’” Each generation, he said, is encouraged to improve on what it inherited. Jack Belcher said Americans still believe the fundamentals: “America was built around values of tolerance, liberty and free markets, and those values remain in our citizens today.”
But these young people aren’t naive about the challenges.
Several identified polarization as a major concern. Others worry about cynicism, disengagement and declining civic knowledge. Natalie wonders what would happen if an entire generation decided that keeping America strong and preserving its founding ideals “is someone else’s responsibility.”
That brings me back to our internship program.
If we want young people to carry freedom forward, we need to give them responsibility now. Give them meaningful work. Invest in them. Train them in the founding principles that make America exceptional.
Our interns tell us they value those things. Intern Dani Pohl said she appreciates working where she can “take ownership and have a real impact.” Madalyn Scott was grateful for Mackinac staff who took time to offer advice and invest in her growth.
Your support of the Mackinac Center helps us do all this. There is plenty to worry about as America enters its next 250 years. But after spending a summer with these young people, I share Jack Belcher’s assessment:
“The future remains bright.”
