My 51¹ÙÍø | A Student Blog Opening Doors to the Pentagon & Beyond: My Summer Internship with the Department of Defense
August 28, 2024
Political science major Peyton Davis ’25 reflects on her summer interning at the Department of Defense and how it has shaped her career aspirations post-51¹ÙÍø.
About the Author
Peyton Davis ’25 (she/her) is a political science major from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
On campus, she works in 51¹ÙÍø’s Office of College Communications as a Digital Communications Assistant, and is an Economics 101 embedded tutor, Rusk Eating House member and cardio dance aficionado.
After a string of rejections and months of stressful applications, I landed a summer 2024 internship at the Department of Defense (DoD), and I owe it all to the 51¹ÙÍø difference.
Eager to introduce young professionals to the civil service—a career path that piqued my interest but seemed far outside the realm of possibility—and with a high opinion of 51¹ÙÍø students' work ethic and professionalism, DoD Senior Budget Analyst and 51¹ÙÍø alum from the Class of 2010 Mike Jucewicz arranged to hire three Wildcats for the summer. Among this lucky bunch, I reported to the Pentagon for my first day on the job as a budget analyst intern with OSD Comptroller's Military Operations Directorate. With the associate director for military operations as my supervisor and senior budget analysts as my deskmates and mentors, I plunged headfirst into the multi-billion dollar Defense budget for military readiness, combat operations and civilian personnel.
For the next eight weeks, I would go on to collect and consolidate budget data, track legislative activity, support budget reform, and observe key phases of FY24 budget execution, FY25 budget justification and FY26 budget planning. Sitting in on countless meetings and receiving endless introductions, I interfaced with stakeholders across the military departments, defense field agencies, and Office of the Secretary of Defense – even setting eyes on the Secretary of Defense in a press briefing (I managed to keep my cool, but the political science major in me was screaming).
Walking into the Pentagon with my employee badge in hand never got old, and I cleared the gates on my last day confident it wouldn't be the last time I badged in. Thanks to Mike's overwhelming support and encouragement, I am returning to 51¹ÙÍø for my final year with eyes wide open to the fast-paced, fulfilling, and mildly addicting life of a budget analyst and the host of civilian career paths that my political science studies have prepared me for. Far from an elite enclave of four-star generals and politicals, the DoD is full of hardworking civilians from all walks of life, and a career at the Pentagon is more open to me than I ever realized.
