RELEASED: July 10, 2003

DANVILLE, KY—Melissa Thompson, a senior history and classical studies major from Liberty, Ky., is spending her summer on Capitol Hill as an intern for the United States Department of Labor.

Ironically, she's living in Centreville, Va., after landing an internship in the Counselor's Office of the Department of Labor.

"I was planning on going to law school, so I thought a law-oriented internship in D.C. would be a good way for me to determine if that was truly the route I wanted to take," Thompson said. "I looked at several individual agencies before meeting Secretary (Elaine) Chao at an event where I had the opportunity to speak with her. As a result, I turned my attention to the Department of Labor, and here I am."

Chao, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, was a featured commencement speaker along with her husband, Senator Mitch McConnell, at Centre this past May.

Thompson said her projects with the Department of Labor change daily, providing for intense times.

"I feel like I was good at researching before I arrived in D.C.," Thompson said. "Now, I know that I'm much better. I've found new ways to go about things, and I've learned how to be efficient and work better in a short time-frame."

The experience with the Department of Labor has led her to appreciate her academic assignments at Centre.
"Doing the type of work I'm doing for the Department of Labor has allowed me to put all those papers (at Centre) into perspective," she said.

After her senior year at Centre, Thompson plans to enter law school and open her own practice or perhaps pursue another federal position.

For more on internship possibilities at Centre, go to http://web.centre.edu/careerd/internships.htm.

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