Student athlete Johshveer Chadha, ‘29, was only a first-year at Lehigh when he took a chance on an internship application that would take him far beyond the Lehigh golf course.
Chadha served as an intern for The Office of Presidential Correspondence at the White House this summer.
“It’s America 250,” Chadha said. “It was probably the most special time to be an intern.”
In the Office of Presidential Correspondence, Chadha said he sorted, reviewed and assisted with official responses to constituent messaging. His work aimed to ensure they aligned with White House messaging.
Chadha said everyone he worked with was extremely kind and treated him with respect.
“It was surreal every day, walking in and out of the White House complex,” Chadha said. “Not many people can say they’ve been there, much less interned and spent a whole summer serving the country there.”
John Manos, the director of golf at Lehigh, has known Chadha for his entire Lehigh experience.
Chadha joined the golf team as a walk-on, and Manos said he proved to have the work ethic and skill to make it through that process.
“The fact that he interned at such a demanding and prestigious place, like the White House, this summer is no surprise,” Manos said. “He is a hard worker. He’s really personable. He’s a great guy all around.”
Aislinn Strohecker, who served as Lehigh’s pre-law advisor for a year, said this experience, like many internships, is very helpful for providing exploratory insight for someone’s future career interests.
Strohecker said some of the most important career skills include professionalism, curiosity and taking every opportunity.
“Being able to have such a high quality experience is really impressive for starting to build up those skills early on,” Strohecker said. “No matter what you’re doing after Lehigh, you’re going to have to practice that professionalism.”
Aligning with Strohecker’s point, Chadha said the biggest lesson he learned from this experience was to always present yourself as professionally as you can.
Chadha is planning on majoring in finance with a minor in real estate. He plans to spend the rest of his time at Lehigh exploring future career paths.
“We’re so excited to see students exploring their interests and getting these fantastic positions,” Strohecker said. “We have so many amazing companies who are represented through internships and full-time jobs.”
According to the White House website, this internship program’s selection process is “highly competitive.” Selection is based on “a commitment to public service,” “demonstrated leadership in the community” and “a commitment to the mission of the Trump Administration.”
“The Office of Presidential Correspondence plays a key role in facilitating an open dialogue between the President and the American people,” according to the White House website. “The office’s mission is to listen to and understand constituents’ views, experiences, and ideas, and coordinate a response on behalf of the President. Interns will assist Presidential Correspondence staff in the facilitation of these communications.”
For more information on the office’s responsibilities, visit the Presidential Departments page.
Both Chadha and Strohecker encourage all students to take a risk and send out applications to internships.
“I would definitely recommend applying,” Chadha said. “It’s something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I’m very grateful that I was given the opportunity to serve as an intern at the highest office in the world.”
Comment Policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to refuse the publication of entirely anonymous comments.