One of the greatest joys of working for you as your elected representative is helping our students achieve their dreams. Whether it’s highlighting artistic and technological prowess through the Congressional Art Competition and Congressional App Challenge, providing valuable work experience through internships or helping with nominations to one of our esteemed Military Service Academies – my staff and office are here to ensure they have every opportunity to succeed.

Service Academy Nominations

Members of Congress may nominate candidates for appointment to four of the five U.S. service academies: 

• U.S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY
• The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, MD
• The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado Springs, CO
• The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point, NY.
• The fifth service academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), New London, CT, does not require a congressional nomination for appointment. 



To request a Military Academy Nomination from our office or to see eligibility details, visit our application page here.

Internships

Each semester and summer, my offices offer Congressional internships to qualified college students and recent graduates. These highly competitive internships provide an excellent opportunity to see the legislative process in action.

Capitol Hill interns experience the fast-paced day-to-day life with Congressional staffers. An intern provides basic assistance to the office by conducting Capitol tours, directing constituent mail, working with the legislative staff on research and special projects, and attending meetings.

Positions are always limited so applicants are encouraged to apply early. To get more information or to apply, please click here.

Congressional Art Competition

Every year, the 49th District holds a Congressional art competition for public, private, and home school high school students to compete for the best artwork of the year. The winning entry is displayed for eleven months as part of an art installation in the U.S. Capitol Building along with other winning submissions from around the country.

The winning artist each year is presented with two round trip tickets to Washington, D.C. to visit the Nation’s capital and attend an exclusive reception inside the U.S. Capitol Building honoring the country’s winners.

To get more information or to apply, click here.

Congressional App Challenge

The Congressional App Challenge gives U.S. High School students an opportunity to learn how to code and be recognized for their skills and innovation. Students from around the nation participate by creating and submitting their own software app for mobile, tablet, or other computing devices on the platform of their choice.

The winning app will receive Congressional recognition, will be promoted on the Congressional App Challenge Website, and will be on display in the U.S. Capitol building for the year following the competition.

Interested students can get more information on the Congressional App Challenge Website.

Information for Students of All Ages

• The Legislative Process Where do our laws come from: the legislative process from idea to enforcement.
• Capitol Questions Ever wondered what House Committee Chairmen do, or what role Whips serve in the House of Representatives? Answers to these and other questions asked by Americans across the country can be found in C-Span's "Capitol Questions" archive.
• White House 101 Facts and fun for all ages about America's White House and the Presidents, families, and pets who have lived and served there.

Information for K-12 Students

• Kids in the House Learn about the rules, procedures, and traditions in the House of Representatives from the 34th Clerk of the House, Karen L. Haas.
• Kids.gov Learn, explore, and have fun at kids.gov, a website designed to serve as a kids portal to the United States government. Kids.gov links to over 2,000 web pages from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations - and they're all geared toward kids.
• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government: for Kids Since you're learning all about government, why not take a tour of American distinctives led by one of the architects of our democracy, Benjamin Franklin.
• NASA: for Kids
• CIA: for Kids
• FBI: for Kids

Teacher Resources

• The Learning Page The Library of Congress' learning page is an educator's one-stop-shop to teaching the fundamentals of American democracy to students. Lesson plan assistance, lecture ideas, and little known American history facts are all at your fingertips on this site.

Foundational Documents

• The Declaration of Independence
• The Constitution of the United States
• The Bill of Rights
• The Federalist Papers
• Primary Documents of United States Democracy