Grant Newsome MPP ’20 talks about his time on Capitol Hill in Detroit Free Press
This summer, MPP students between their first and second years of study are fanned out across the globe for an internship experience. A few are gaining professional experience on Capitol Hill, including Grant Newsome (MPP ’20). His internship experience is typical, but what’s unique is reading about in the Detroit Free Press’ sports pages. That’s because Newsome, in addition to being a Ford School master’s student, is a former Michigan football player and current student coach.
Interning in Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Newsome required a desk on risers to accommodate his height and athletic build, according to “Michigan football’s Grant Newsome spent his summer indoors—with Debbie Dingell” by Nick Baumgardner, published July 18. His schedule was also atypical, focusing on electric vehicle legislation during the week but cutting football tape in the evenings and participating in recruitment on the weekends.
Reflecting on his experience in the Congresswoman’s office, he said it was an “incredible opportunity to get a glimpse of what happens here on a day-to-day basis and how impactful the work is here."
Reflecting on Newsome’s work, Greg Sunstrum (BA ’09), Dingell’s chief of staff, said “You can tell by just talking to him that he really cares about making people's lives better.”
Newsome is unsure how that desire will play out in his career just yet.
“There are so many opportunities here and I just feel so fortunate to have gone to a school like Michigan and be in the Ford School. There are so many opportunities that are open not just within academics but also the Michigan athletic community. It really feels like I've got endless options. And I'm very thankful for that."