Meet the "Wolffs": IGPA's interns on policy, purpose, and what’s next

This episode of the Illinois Policy Unpacked podcast is a special one. We sat down with our three Charles P. Wolff interns, (also affectionately known as "the Wolffs") Aparna Ramakrishnan, Cecilia Espinosa, and Lindsay Semmelman. This paid internship through the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois System is designed to expose undergraduate students to a variety of activities that occur within a busy public policy research institute. 

Join us as we discuss their favorite part of the internship, what their immediate future holds, and something they want older generations to know about Gen Z.

Transcript

Kristen Chandler   

Hello everyone, and welcome to the IGPA podcast, where we inform the policy conversation in Illinois and beyond. 

Today’s episode is a special one. We’re joined by all three of our 2024 Charles P. Wolff interns, also affectionately known as “the Wolffs”. These outstanding University of Illinois students are part of a prestigious program that offers firsthand experience in public policy, research, and government, right here at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. 

The Wolff Internship, named after Charles P. Wolff, a longtime public servant and former IGPA associate director, is designed to prepare future policy leaders through deep, hands-on work with IGPA experts. It’s a unique opportunity for students to explore the intersection of academic research and realworld impact—and today, we’re pulling back the curtain to hear directly from the interns themselves.  

They’ll share what drew them to the program, what they’ve been working on this year, and how their experiences are shaping their views on public service and policy change. So sit back, get inspired, and join us as we hear from the next generation of policy changemakers. 

All three of you had wide-ranging experiences and interests before you joined IGPA. What about IGPA’s mission drew you to apply in the first place? 

Aparna Ramakrishnan  

Hi, my name is Aparna Ramakrishnan. I'm a junior and at the University of Illinois Chicago, and I'm a double major in integrated health studies and public policy. What drew me to IGPA was specifically the focus on research driven policy change. IGPA does something really unique in connecting U of I affiliates to the Illinois legislature, and providing them, not only with the ability to advocate on behalf of their specific specialties, but also giving them the opportunity to be able to create change on a broader level within that specialty. Som I think having the opportunity to be a part of that is what really drew me to IGPA.  

Cecilia Espinosa  

Hi, my name is Cecilia Espinosa. I'm a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, studying political science communication in Spanish. What drew me to IGPA? So, I had had some experience on the federal government level with internships, but I just kind of felt a little bit disconnected from my home state of Illinois, and wanted to, you know, learn a little bit more about what was going on in state politics and state public policy. And so, their ability to kind of connect a lot of, you know, local researchers in the University of Illinois produces world renowned research, as we know. So that was a really cool aspect, was to get to get to know so many scholars throughout the process, and see the whole, you know, start of the of the process of making legislative action with research, and then actually seeing that get fulfilled throughout so that was really awesome to get to combine not only my experience at the federal level, but now get to take it a little bit closer to home back in Illinois with IGPA. 

Lindsay Semmelman  

Hi, my name is Lindsay Semmelman. I'm a recent graduate of University of Illinois in Urbana, Champaign with a double major in political science and communications. And the reason why I was drawn towards IGPA was just because, similar to what you both said, is how it worked on the state level, and we worked really closely with a lot of professors through all three universities. Also, I heard a lot of great things about this program from my peers around the campus, and I was drawn towards applying for those reasons.  

Kristen Chandler   

Great, thank you so much to the three of you. So, Wolff interns are asked to perform tasks from designing graphics and researching public policy topics to writing press releases and planning events. What has been your favorite part of the Wolff internship at IGPA?  

Lindsay Semmelman  

Yeah, so my favorite part of the Wolff internship has definitely been working with graphics and doing a lot of things on the comms side. Another one of my favorite aspects is when we do Q and A's with different professors at all three universities, and we get to find news topics that are interesting to us and ask these experts in the fields their opinion. And it's always great to learn something new about that in those regards. 

Cecilia Espinosa  

Yeah, just to echo some of those sentiments, I definitely have really enjoyed the policy spotlights. I try to stay as informed as possible, reading like local news and seeing what's going on. So, we've got to do a couple of Q and A's centered on issues such as Medicaid or gun control and just various things that you know kind of enlighten us, and then getting to hear the actual research and scholars behind it and what drives them and makes them so passionate about it. Som I really enjoyed the policy spotlights of getting to research the issue at hand and then getting to actually conduct interviews with those scholars, and then writing the actual write ups themselves that get published on our website and social media. So, it's very awesome to have that kind of tangible work and also learning so much in the process as well. 

Aparna Ramakrishnan  

My favorite part of the internship has been working on the policy summit program materials, and hearing about everyone that's speaking or spoke at the summit. Hearing about people that come from all walks of life, from the Illinois Department of Public Health Director who came to speak, as well as people from the transit Department data. And I think reading about their bios really inspired me of what else is out there and all that we can do great. 

Kristen Chandler   

Thank you so much. And to any of the listeners out there, a huge pinnacle of the Wolff internship is having students who have a really strong pulse on what's going on in Illinois, and that's what's made these three very successful. Pretend you're talking to an applicant for the Wolff internship. What type of experience would make someone well positioned for this internship?  

Cecilia Espinosa  

Yeah, so I had a few friends kind of just ask what exactly IGPA is, and it's really just summarized as University of Illinois systems think tank. So, I think any sort of experience that you have with legislative or communications work is super, super helpful, but just a lot of adaptability. Public policy is constantly changing, and so you have to be adaptable, and, you know, willing to kind of make those changes on the on the fly, and also just the ability to learn. I think if you're very curious and you're open to learning. I didn't know everything about Illinois policy coming into this, but I've learned so much throughout the process, and getting to rely on not only my staff, but also the interns and hearing what their specialties and interests are, so just being willing and open to learn and adapt is definitely extremely helpful. 

Lindsay Semmelman  

Yeah, yeah. Going off of that, I would definitely say adaptability, creativity, too willing to think outside the box and always wanting to learn more, having that open mindset is so important. Our next incoming Wolffs are going to be amazing at this role, and we're so excited for the three of them. I definitely say those three embody creativity. They're driven and they just overall care about Illinois policy and wanting to benefit the university as at large. 

Kristen Chandler   

So, a key piece of the Wolff internship is the current Wolff’s taking on the hiring process for the next year's Wolff interns. We have just wrapped that up and sent out our offers, and we are excited to have our next round of interns start in June, and very sad for our current Wolff interns to be rolling off once they end in May. For our next question, what is something you want older generations to know about Gen Z, especially in relations to politics and public policy? 

Aparna Ramakrishnan  

I think one important thing for the older generation to know about Gen Z in relation to public policy and politics is that while our methods may be unconventional or different, they show that we care, and we've employed everything from social media to grassroots campaigns to knocking on doors to try and create change. But even though this may be different from what was done in the past, we still really do care, not only about our planet, but the people that live on it as well, and we truly want to make change for the better. 

Cecilia Espinosa  

I think a huge element of Gen Z is a lot that we've grown up in. I relate to, like a lot of my friends, and all of the different historical and unprecedented events that we've had to live through, not only in just the past year, but, you know, the past 22 years of my life, a lot of our youth, was kind of defined by a lot of, you know, heartbreaking events and tragedies that kind of have occurred on many different levels. And so, I think we are a lot more engaged just based off those things, and have a lot more empathy for, you know, the systems that are in place and the things that we kind of have to break down in order to make the world a bit more equitable. And so, I think Gen Z is very passionate, very fired up, and it's a lot more than just digital activism. We do take to the streets, and we try to get as involved and as informed as possible. And so I do feel very confident in my generation to kind of lead that path. And so, I hope older generations also recognize that, and if you do hire a young person, trust that they care, trust that they're going to be learning, trust that they are there for a reason, and deserve to be heard just as much as anybody else with older experience. So that's what I would like the older generations to know.  

Kristen Chandler   

Those are fantastic answers. Thank you so much for giving us that insight into Gen Z and politics and public policy. All of you are highly driven individuals with goals in public policy, medicine and education. Can you tell us what the immediate future holds for you?  

Lindsay Semmelman  

Yeah, of course. So as of right now, I will be moving to Boston to teach middle school history with 

Teach for America. I'm really excited for that opportunity. I'll also be getting my master’s at Boston University in educational policy. My passion for education policy definitely sparked while working here as a wolf intern. I learned so much from everyone on this team and all the professors that we've worked with. So, I just I can't thank them enough for this opportunity and everything. 

Cecilia Espinosa  

I'll be graduating in approximately two weeks, which is very surreal to say, the past four years has been transformative, and I'm so grateful to the University of Illinois System for supporting me throughout the entire process. I'm very fortunate to say that I'll be returning to Washington, DC, to be a James H Dunn Memorial Fellow and the Office of Governor J.B. Pritzker on his federal affairs team. And that really is a experience that I accredit a lot to IGPA because of their ability to give me so much more hands on legislative and communications work and also focus a lot more on not only Illinois, but how it connects to the federal level, which I talked all about in my interview. So, this experience has really been super helpful and a huge stepping stone for the start of my career. I'm very excited for what's to come. 

Aparna Ramakrishnan  

I'm a junior, so I'm not graduating like the two of them, but I will be graduating in December of this year, and then I'll be starting medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in August of 2026 and I'll hopefully get my medical degree, so an MD, but also a master's in public health. The master's of Public Health was definitely a recent add on, but it's definitely again, accredited to IGPA, and all the scholars and affiliates they've connected me with that have shown me the ability and the cross disciplinary benefits of getting an MPH as well. 

Kristen Chandler   

That's great. Thank you so much for sharing your answers, and we're really excited to see what the future holds for all of you, very successful young ladies. Thanks for tuning in to this special episode of the IGPA podcast. We hope you enjoyed hearing from our incredible Wolff interns as much as we did. Their passion, insights, and dedication to public service remind us why programs like this matter. Stay tuned for more conversations that inform the policy conversation in Illinois and beyond. Until next time, thanks for listening.