Keimi Driscoll in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.

Keimi Driscoll knows it will be hard get on the career path she wants to follow, but she believes a summer in Washington, D.C., will give her the edge she needs.

 

Thanks to a grant from the bequest of late City Administrator Ray Gosack, Driscoll is spending her summer at The Washington Center, an independent nonprofit that offers internships and seminars for students, providing a mix of academic rigor and real-world experiences.

 

At 25, the Fort Smith resident is a nontraditional student at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, studying political science and international business. She spent the last three years working two jobs to pay for her education. However, she said, she could not have attended The Washington Center this year without this award.

 

“I am extremely grateful to Ray Gosack for making this opportunity available to me,” she said recently. “The people I will meet, the experience I receive, and the knowledge I gain from the entire experience (are something) I could never have attained from my own limited resources.”

 

At the Washington Center, Driscoll will work with the International Division of the National Conference of State Legislatures. She will research international political issues and help prepare the group’s Legislative Summit in August in Boston.

 

She will also have a chance to attend networking events, visit graduate schools and talk to people in fields she might like to pursue. She’s hoping her experiences will help her focus her career goals. Right now she isn’t sure if she wants to work in public service or nonprofits.

 

“The field I want to go into is not necessarily easy to get into, but Washington. D.C., is the best place to go if you want to try. Without the Ray Gosack funding, I never would have gotten the opportunity to try.”

 

About the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith

The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith is the premiere regional institution of Western Arkansas, connecting education with careers and serving as a driver of economic development and quality of place in the greater Fort Smith region. Through a small campus, dedicated professors, and the university’s unique bond with its community, students at UAFS are able to do more in the areas they are passionate about, both on- and off-campus, in a way that prepares them for post-graduate success. To find out how you can do more at UAFS, visit www.uafs.edu.