Alumna Serves at The Heritage Foundation
As an intern for the Center for Health Policy Studies, Katelyn King dives into each new experience with knowledge from her political science degree.
On the first day of spring, residents of Washington, D.C., were greeted with yet more snowy weather. For Katelyn King (’14), unique weather like this is just one more reminder that God has brought her somewhere new, somewhere special.
When Katelyn began considering what to do with her political science degree, an internship at The Heritage Foundation was not on her list of possibilities. But when Katelyn put her résumé on a job bank managed by The Heritage Foundation, the organization noticed her education and work experience and offered her an internship at the Center for Health Policy Studies in the nation’s capital. Ultimately, though, Katelyn knows that it was God who opened the door. “God greatly blessed me with this position,” Katelyn said. “Nothing happens in our life that He has not orchestrated.”
Since Katelyn had lived in the South her entire life, accepting the position meant moving away from much of what she had known. Katelyn said, “Being in one of the largest cities in the country has come with different challenges. The entire culture in D.C. is unlike anything I have ever lived with, and I constantly have to rely on God to get me through all of the circumstances.”
Despite the challenges, Katelyn loves what she is doing. She spends the majority of her days researching health-related topics such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare. Her other responsibilities include attending weekly policy briefings and making charts and graphs using data from the Congressional Budget Office.
Through lectures sponsored by The Heritage Foundation, Katelyn has also been able to hear several influential political figures including Senator Ted Cruz; Congressman Paul Ryan; and Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan.
In March, Katelyn’s article “Why Congress Must Take the Time to Do Medicare Doctor Payments Right” was published online by the Daily Signal. In this piece, Katelyn uses her research to encourage Congress to “battle for the best” rather than settling for an easier or quicker decision concerning Medicare legislation.
Katelyn is thankful for the education she received at PCC, especially through her political science classes, which prepared her to do in-depth research, compile data, and write effectively. Katelyn said, “PCC played a crucial role in my being prepared for a vigorous internship in the nation’s capital. Through my political science classes, I was able to gain the knowledge that would help me in every aspect for working at a think tank.”