This blog post was written by YAF alumna Gabriella Hoffman

This past summer, I had the pleasure of being one of four Sarah T. Hermann Intern Scholars with Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California. While interning with the premiere organization for cultivating the Conservative Movement’s future leaders, I witnessed firsthand how successful and how instrumental Young America’s Foundation is with keeping the conservative spirit alive. I learned many valuable principles and took advantage of the innumerable resources afforded to me for my campus activism and my career in the Conservative Movement. Not only did I get to relish working in a beautiful—albeit liberal—city and trips to President Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo, my fellow West Coast interns and I also went to the 32^nd Annual National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C., August 2^nd-7^th, 2010.  Additionally, I assisted with the Advancing Freedom in an Era of New Socialism seminar on July 15-17^th, 2010, the 29^th celebration of Reagan’s tax cuts, and Wendy P. McCaw Roundtable Luncheons for Ben Stein and Marc Short.

When I first came to Reagan Ranch Center, I was fresh out of my first year of college and already familiar with Young America’s Foundation after they helped me bring David Horowitz to UCSD. Prior to college, I had acquainted myself with their bureau of conservative speakers and programs retrofitted for college and high school students. Yet, I never imagined myself working for them in any capacity early on. What better way to get your start in the Conservative Movement than with an internship with Young America’s Foundation?

It is not cliché to say that working with Young America’s Foundation provides one with an experience unlike any other. Not only do you get to with work with a great staff, have many resources, and relish a great environment, an intern with Young America’s Foundation gets to meet and talk with well-known conservative figures and up-and-coming activists. I was afforded the chance to talk with Michael Reagan, Rich Lowry, Fred Thompson, Kate Obenshain, Ann McElhinney, and Marji Ross—to name a few—and get their advice on how to traverse into the Conservative Movement. Additionally, I met fellow conservative activists at seminars and conferences, only to come out with life-long friends and cohorts from all over the United States and Europe. Your time with Young America’s Foundation will be unrivaled to any other experience out there!

If you want a head start in the Conservative Movement, interning with Young America’s Foundation is the best avenue. You will come out a stronger activist. You will network with the top players of the Conservative Movement. You will create friendships that last forever. Choose Young America’s Foundation and begin your career in the Conservative Movement!