Since 1967 Phillips Exeter Academy of New Hampshire, a highly ranked high school, has been sending a group of 12 seniors to serve as interns in Congressional offices.
The program will run from March 23 to May 29 in 2026. Our interns often fill a gap between the winter and summer interns in the offices they serve.
Interns are expected to work full time, five-days per week.
The school covers all our interns' living expenses, including housing within waking distance of the House and Senate office buildings, and a daily meals stipend, allowing offices to stretch their intern budget.
Candidates are chosen through a rigorous screening process. The 2026 interns were recommended by teachers and advisors, and then interviewed and screened by a faculty committee; 12 were chosen from a field of 20.
While in DC, the interns are supervised by a faculty director, Mr. William Jordan, who makes sure the interns are satisfying their workplace obligations and living up to the program's high standards.
The program has acquired a stellar reputation since its founding in 1967. Offices that employ Exeter interns are usually eager to take them again.
Exeter interns are known for superior writing and research skills. Our school's curriculum emphasizes the teaching of those skills.
In 2025, our interns worked in the offices of Sens. Thom Tillis, Maggie Hassan, and Jeanne Shaheen; and Reps. Glen Ivey, Max Miller, Salud Carbajal, Kevin Mullin, Chris Pappas, Tom Souzzi. In previous recent years, Exeter interns served in six of those offices and also for Nancy Pelosi, Juan Cisomani, and Colin Allred, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jake Auchincloss, Vincente Gonzales, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, among others. Feel free to contact any of those offices for an assessment of our program.
In the evenings and on weekends, students attend seminars arranged by the resident director, with professionals from Congressional offices, the Washington press corps, national security agencies, political parties, federal law enforcement, think tanks, foreign service, the White House staff, and various executive agencies. On the very rare occasion when one of these sessions requires some time out of the work day, we will encourage the interns to notify supervisors well in advance.