Rattler wrapping up White House internship

FAMU student Andrea Turk is among the 150 college students chosen, from a pool of 7,500 applicants, for a White House internship in Washington, D.C. this summer. Turks doesn't have to look very far to find a familiar face, as fellow FAMUan Andrew Collins is also a White House intern this summer.

"I can't say exactly what I do, but I can tell you I'm in the Department of Management and Administration in the executive office," Turks told the Gainesville Sun.

Turk, who graduated from Buchholz in 1987, started her undergrad degree at FAMU before taking a 12-year break. She returned to FAMU in 2006 and earned straight A's on her way to a political science degree.

She currently is finishing up a graduate degree in applied social sciences with a concentration in public administration. With less than two weeks worth of course work left to complete, Turk will finish her classes before her internship is over.

She will fly back to FAMU for graduation on Aug. 7 and then fly back to Washington to finish up her internship, which ends Aug. 14. She has not yet made a final decision about what she will do after graduation.

One of Turk's professors at FAMU had nothing but praise for his student.

"Her passion for learning far surpassed that of other college students. It's something she can really appreciate," said Dr. David Jackson, who is not only her mentor/advisor, but was also in the Marching 100 during Turk's early years at FAMU. "I'm encouraging her to look into pursuing her Ph.D. She has the right kind of focus and commitment to get it done."

The Department of Management and Administration, where Turk is interning, is responsible for communications, correspondences, references and security checks for White House employees, as well as those calling, entering and leaving for business or personal reasons.

"This internship is actually what will finish my degree," Turk said.

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