Camille Herrera says she was fascinated with politics from an early age, telling her parents she wanted to be president of the United States.

“The desire to understand the politics around me never ceased,” she said in an application letter for the Panetta Institute’s Congressional Internship Program. “I have accrued an intense interest in understanding just how issues are identified and resolved on a legislative level and plan to become a policy analyst.”

Herrera, of Hilmar, California, is going into her fourth year at Cal State Monterey Bay as a global studies major. She was recently chosen as the CSUMB representative in the internship program and will spend the fall semester in Washington, D.C. The Panetta Institute chooses one student from each CSU campus for the annual program. 

Herrera said she doesn’t know which congressional office she will be assigned to, but she expects it will be a great educational experience.

“I’m excited,” she said. “With this being an election year, there’s going to be lots of historical moments happening around me.”

This won’t be Hererra’s first semester participating in a distance program. In sSpring of this year, she took part in the International Exchange Program at the University of Leeds in England.  

She’s expecting to come out of the Panetta internship with a clearer idea of her career path.

“I really think just being in the environment will give me a better understanding of how the game that is our government is played,” she said. “Being surrounded by it, I think, will have a profound effect on how I choose to navigate my own career.”