STUDENTS FROM UH, TSU FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS
OF MICKEY LELAND
THROUGH CONGRESSIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
It took more than a year for Farhana Qureshi, a University of Houston
senior, to prepare her parents for her big plans.
From the moment she heard about the prestigious Mickey Leland Congressional
Internship Program, Qureshi knew that she wanted to participate.
In moving forward, she went through a mental checklist of steps
necessary to achieve that goal.
For experience, Qureshi took on two internships in Houston, one
in former Mayor Lee Brown’s office and the other in U.S. Rep.
Chris Bell’s district office. That was the easy part.
“I come from a conservative family, and neither my parents
nor I had any plans of me moving away any time soon,” said
the Southeast Asian American. “That all changed with the Leland
Program. In order to gain my parents’ approval, I knew that
I had to convince them that I was serious about going to Washington.”
Her tenacity paid off. After Qureshi was named one of six Leland
interns, her parents, who emigrated from Bangladesh, have been more
than supportive.
The six students from UH and Texas Southern University have earned
themselves a place in the Mickey Leland Congressional Internship
Program this spring in the nation’s capital. The program was
founded by the late congressman to give students an opportunity
to work in national politics. Today, the program is open to juniors
and seniors from Houston’s two public universities. It is
administered by UH’s Center for Public Policy.
Students will be honored at a reception Wednesday, Jan. 21, from
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the UH Alumni Center, 3100 Cullen Blvd. Media
covering the event are invited to attend.
The 2004 Leland interns and their university affiliation are Neinka
Bowden (TSU), Grace Lee (UH), Ajanea Miles (UH), Amit Patel (UH),
Stephen Payne (TSU), and Farhana Qureshi (UH).
Since its inception in 1981, the Mickey Leland Congressional Internship
Program has placed nearly 200 students from TSU and UH as interns
in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. Upon completion
of the program, students earn 12-15 credit hours toward their degree.
Major sponsors of the program include UH, Houston Endowment and
Continental Airlines.
WHAT: |
Reception honoring the 2004 Mickey Leland Congressional
Interns |
WHEN: |
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004 |
WHERE: |
University of Houston Alumni Center, 3100 Cullen Blvd. |
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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