Aspiring physician RJ Ho ’27 is fascinated by the machinations of healthcare policy—and in spring 2026, he got a chance to see how those strategies are hashed out, proposed, and enacted in the nation’s capital.
“I’m interested helping people and diagnosing what’s wrong with an individual human being,” says Ho, a biology major in Arts & Sciences, “but I also think that a physician should know the broader scope and understand the system in which they practice.”
Ho interned on the legislative team of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, which gave him an up-close view of some inner workings of policymaking.
“There’s a lot going on – tons of meetings, briefings, hearings, answering constituent calls and emails, even giving tours,” says Ho, chatting with Cornellians in early May, during the final weeks of his internship. “We’re right at the center of the bureaucratic system.”
For Ho, the opportunity came via the Cornell in Washington (CIW) program.
For nearly half a century, the program has sent several dozen students—not only the expected government and history majors, but from across the University—to D.C. for a semester, housing and teaching them in a four-story, Cornell-owned building in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
Read the full story on the Cornellians website.
More News from A&S
Musk-Altman trial highlights broader disconnect between tech sector, public
Government and technology
Housing bill for artists revives bigger question: who gets to ‘make it’ in New York?
Politics of cities
