Grant to honor Sandy Berger '67 supports student summer experiences

The Berger Summer Internship Fund, created in 2018 by friends and family of Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger ’67, is again available to support undergraduate students in the College of Arts & Sciences pursuing unpaid or minimally paid summer internships.

Berger was a government major in Arts & Sciences and served as an advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 before serving as co-chair of the global strategy firm Albright Stonebridge Group, along with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

“Initially, I was shocked that I had received such immense support,” said Elizaeth De Los Reyes ‘19, a government major who was one of the students who received the Berger grant last year. “As a low-income, first-generation student, we can often feel like these opportunities are out of reach.”

De Los Reyes interned at the McCain Institute for International Leadership’s Human Trafficking Program in Texas. She was part of the Buffett-McCain Institute Initiative to Combat Modern Slavery, a three-year program focused on addressing labor trafficking and other forms of labor exploitation in the agricultural sector.

“As someone who is fascinated by issues of border politics, migration and trade, I was eager to spend my summer working in a think-tank with a commitment to public service,” De Los Reyes said. Her responsibilities included collecting data from 74 counties in Texas to assess the scope of labor trafficking in those areas, and contributing to the production of the program’s report for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

“I was given the freedom to pursue my own project,” she said. “During the last weeks of my internship, I worked remotely in South Texas producing a report assessing the ramifications of the family separation crisis and the effect of (former attorney general) Jeff Sessions’ zero-tolerance policy.”

After graduation, De Los Reyes will be working as a litigation legal assistant at Milbank & Tweed LLC, an international law firm headquartered in New York City.

Arts & Sciences students can apply for the grant on the Student Assembly Summer Experience Grant website on the Career Development page.