Martin School students find opportunity through WilDCats at the Capitol

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 21, 2025) — April is National Internship Month, and in celebration the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy and Administration recognized four outstanding undergraduate public policy students who have spent the Spring 2025 semester in Washington as part of the UK’s WilDCats at the Capitol program.

WilDCats at the Capitol is a UK internship program that offers any UK student the opportunity to intern, earn course credit and gain experience in public policy careers — all while living in the nation’s capital. Students from various majors are invited to participate in internships and discover the role policy plays in every industry. Students spend 40 hours per week at policy-related internships each semester both on and off Capitol Hill.

“WilDCats at the Capitol recently expanded its outreach to include more applicants from students outside of political science,” said Matthew Jackson, assistant director of  WilDCats at the Capitol. “Our program has grown tremendously in the past year where we have increased course listing options for students and marketed our program to students of various majors and programs across UK’s campus.”

Undergraduate public policy students who participated as part of the Spring 2025 WilDCats at the Capitol cohort include:

• Siena Pilati, a junior public policy major from Canton, Ohio. Pilati also has a minor in international studies, currently obtaining her certificate in artificial intelligence. Pilati credits her data analysis and management faculty for preparing her for the experience.
  
  “My education in public policy has been extremely helpful to have at the Kennedy Center,” Pilati said.
   
• Logan Justice, a junior with a double major in public policy and integrated strategic communication from Lexington. His internship at Seven Letter gives Justice experience managing brand reputation from a public perspective. 
  
  “This internship has allowed me to branch out of Lexington, connect with new people, and learn real-world experience and skills,” Justice said.
   
• Anamei Walli, a junior from Versailles, Kentucky, with a double major in public policy and political science and a minor in health advocacy. Walli’s current internship at the Department of Justice in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is her second internship in Washington. She says she is “extremely appreciative” to have the opportunity of being selected a second time.
  
  “I knew that working in the D.O.J. was something I really wanted, so I tried to seek out people in the city who either currently work or previously interned in the Justice Department,” Walli said.
   
• Natalie Gross is a junior from Louisville. She’s using her double major in public policy and economics in an internship in Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office.
  
  “Sen. McConnell’s office has helped further my understanding of policies and their effects on the economy and the constitutions of Kentucky,” Gross said.

Learn more about the program in this recent UKNow article. 

About the UK Martin School of Public Policy and Administration

A powerhouse for change, the Martin School at the University of Kentucky is a comprehensive school of policy and administration, offering degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level, and graduate certificates. Excelling in research, education and public service, it provides an innovative environment reflective of commitment, strategic thinking and integrity. Beginning in 1976 with the creation of the Master of Public Administration program, the Martin School has been on a trajectory of excellence since then, preparing graduates for a variety of public service careers including those in local, state or federal government and nonprofit agencies.

Its public financial management and budgeting specialization ranks fourth in the country and the school ranks 27th in the country overall among all public policy schools in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of public affairs programs. The Martin School engages in cutting-edge, policy analytic research, preparing students to be future leaders able to bridge the gap between analysis and action, helping to solve problems that matter to people and communities.

To learn more about the Martin School of Public Policy, contact recruiter Kimberly Pressley at kimberlypressley@uky.edu or visit https://martin.uky.edu/.