New York State Assembly Internships
The New York State Assembly, since 1971, has offered internships to undergraduate and graduate students. The Assembly Internship is a comprehensive academic program which gives qualified students
the chance to work in the state government.
The Assembly Session Intern Program offers full-time, semester-long undergraduate internships. The Assembly Graduate Scholars Program runs from the spring semester
into June. Each of these internship programs includes a stipend to assist in offsetting the cost of relocating to Albany. Students who participate in the New York State Assembly Programs are given the opportunity to get involved in state government and gain firsthand knowledge of the legislative process. Interns complete a mandatory week-long Orientation and are enrolled in a course taught by the Internship Professors-in-Residence. They are assigned research and administrative responsibilities in an Assemblymember’s office. Working full-time while completing an academic course provides a rigorous and valuable, practical educational experience. The Session Internship is a full-time, comprehensive program requiring specific academic and professional work hours.
The New York State Assembly established the Intern Committee directed by a bipartisan group of legislators with strong interests in higher education. The Assembly Intern Committee is provided
for in the Assembly Rules and is composed of the following legislative leaders: Speaker Pro Tempore, Assistant Speaker, Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chair of the Higher Education
Committee, Minority Leader, Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee, and Ranking Minority Member of the Higher Education Committee.
The Committee has a permanent staff which carries on the day-to-day activities of the Session Internship. The Committee appoints two Professors-in-Residence from a college or university
in New York State each year to teach the regular courses and supervise the educational aspects of the program.
The Session Internship is open to New York State residents matriculated in a
college or university degree program as juniors or seniors. Out-of-State residents and international students, with the appropriate documentation, who are similarly matriculated in a college
or university degree program in the United States, are also eligible to apply. Applicants may be from any major.
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CARL E. HEASTIE
SPEAKER
Carl E. Heastie is the first African American to serve as Speaker of the New York State Assembly, elected by his Assembly colleagues on February 3, 2015.
In his first budget as Speaker, he worked closely with members of the Assembly Majority to develop a financial plan that made an historic $1.8 billion investment in the education of our students, addressed the homelessness crisis facing our communities and gave working families the resources they need to achieve financial independence. Speaker Heastie is committed to fighting for the reforms and investments that will strengthen our families and uplift all New Yorkers.
Speaker Heastie represents the 83rd A.D. in the northeast Bronx and was first elected to the Assembly in 2000. As a member of the Assembly, he has been one of the leading advocates for the construction of new schools and his vigilance has led to the development of several new schools in his district. In addition, he has secured significant funding for housing, education, after school programming, health and human services, jobs readiness and computer training for constituents.
Amongst his many legislative achievements, Speaker Heastie was a principal negotiator in securing an increase in the minimum wage that took effect January 1, 2014. He was also successful in negotiating increases in unemployment insurance benefits, which had been stagnant since 1998. He was the prime sponsor of the Wage Theft Prevention Act which provided stiffer penalties for employers that steal wages from employees.
Speaker Heastie scored a victory for public health when he championed the passage of a law that prohibited the sale of water containing nicotine to children under 18 years old. He also authored a law to help victims of domestic violence by releasing them from lease obligations if it is found that remaining in the residence would keep the victim in a dangerous environment.
Prior to joining the Assembly, Speaker Heastie served as a budget analyst in the New York City Comptroller's office where he researched, prepared and authored reports on the City's spending patterns. He earned a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in Finance from Bernard M. Baruch College (CUNY) and a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Stony Brook University (SUNY).
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The Honorable
Alicia Hyndman
Intern Committee Chair
Alicia L. Hyndman was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 3rd, 2015, in the 29th AD, encompassing the neighborhoods of Laurelton, Rosedale, St. Albans, Addisleigh Park, Hollis, Springfield Gardens and Jamaica. The daughter of Caribbean immigrants, Assemblywoman Hyndman emigrated to the U.S. from London, England, as a young child. She spent her formative years growing up in Hollis & South Ozone Park attending public schools P.S. 34, I.S. 109, J.H.S. 226 & John Adams High School.
Prior to being elected to the State Assembly, Ms. Hyndman served on the NYC Department of Education’s Community District Education Council 29 (CEC29) for ten years, the last four years as President. Leading advocacy for the 36 elementary and middle schools in the district, through collaborative leadership, she was able to bring in $30 million in capital funding for technology upgrades, facilities improvements, playground rehabilitation and other amenities to enhance the quality of education for students.
Assemblywoman Hyndman’s professional career spans over fifteen years with the NYS Department of Education as a Senior Professional Conduct Investigator, overseeing adult trade and vocational schools. She previously held many positions in the fields of education, including but not limited to: Counselor for the Brooklyn College Educational Talent Search Program; Director of Minority Affairs at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of NYIT; and Assistant with the New York State Education Department Office of Higher Education. Her dedication to career education is exemplified by bills she has brought forth in the New York State Assembly.
As a longtime education advocate, Assemblywoman Hyndman has focused heavily on creating educational opportunities for the Queens community through the redeveloping of John F. Kennedy International Airport, growing small businesses and providing access to living-wage jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. She has continued her advocacy by authoring the landmark legislation of Juneteenth day in New York State, which is now observed statewide.
Assemblywoman Hyndman holds a Bachelor of Arts Degrees from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Framingham State College in Massachusetts. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a member of the Queens Chapter of Jack & Jill. She currently resides in Laurelton, Queens with her family.
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