CHCI Congressional Internship Program Brings Diversity to Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the nation's premier Latino youth leadership development and educational organization, welcomed the arrival of its 2013 summer congressional internship class on Monday, June 10, 2013. Thirty-six undergraduate students traveled from 11 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to take part in the nationally recognized and award-winning CHCI Congressional Internship Program (CIP).

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The CIP works to expose talented young Latinos to the inner-workings of Congress, while preparing them to become part of the workforce pipeline to staff positions on Capitol Hill, where Latinos continue to be vastly underrepresented. The CIP prepares young Latinos to be role models for their community and take the first steps to becoming the future leaders of America.

"CHCI is committed to providing young Latinos a pathway to employment on Capitol Hill in the interest of narrowing the wide gap of staff diversity that we observe in Congress," said Esther Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO. "Latinos will soon make up one of every two new entrants into the U.S. labor market.  Our mission is to ensure that the future workforce of America is prepared and qualified to take on leadership roles across all sectors of the economy, including the public sector where decisions are made that affect our community and the entire nation."

CHCI also strives to create diversity within its own class of interns. The 2013 class represents ten different Hispanic ethnic backgrounds, pursuing 25 different fields of study for their bachelor's degrees.

The Congressional interns participate in weekly CHCI leadership and professional development sessions and meet with corporate representatives, national elected officials and foreign dignitaries. They also engage in a community service project during their stay in Washington, D.C. The interns are provided with housing, roundtrip transportation and a stipend.

CHCI's Summer Congressional Internship Program is supported by David Bohnett Foundation, Comcast Foundation, Darden Restaurants, Dario Marquez, General Electric Hispanic Forum, The Gilbert and Jackie Cisneros Foundation, Hyundai Motor America, Marathon Oil, Mass Mutual, National Association of Broadcasters, NewsCorp, Pfizer, Shell Oil Company, Time Warner Cable, Time Warner, Inc., Toyota, United Health Foundation, UPS, and Southwest Airlines – the official airline of CHCI's Leadership Development Programs.

Applicants can apply for the CIP at www.chci.org.

About CHCI
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c) (3) organization, provides leadership development programs and educational services to students and young emerging leaders. The CHCI Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic members of Congress, nonprofit, union, and corporate leaders. For more information call CHCI at (202) 543-1771, visit www.chci.org, or join us on Facebook, Twitter (chci), and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute