Using an internship to pair advocacy with creativity

Brandeis Stories

Using an internship to pair advocacy with creativity

By Steve Foskett
Photography by Galen Morse; video by Fabio Castel Garcia
August 10, 2026 • Arts

Before getting experience outside the classroom, rising junior Shelby Terry found inspiration inside of one.

Given the opportunity to advocate for menstrual equity at the Massachusetts Statehouse as part of Professor Charlotte Powley's Gender, Justice and Legislation course, Terry started to make the connection between her academic pursuits and how they can help repair the world.

The hands-on, interactive learning throughout the class at Brandeis opened her up to new ideas about the value of her education. She traveled to the State House for Advocacy Day, and worked with Mass NOW to support new legislation. Learning about the legislative process and how one citizen can have an impact motivated her to pursue an internship in the field.

She was able to secure a fellowship through her involvement with ENACT, the Abraham Feinberg Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation, and this summer, she handled social media outreach for state Rep. Tara T. Hong, D-Lowell.

"It was a really cool experience I had advocating," says Terry, a film major minoring in legal studies and journalism. "I think that's the moment that I was like, 'Hey, I'm actually good at this, too.'"

During her internship, she helped create engaging content promoting the representative's work at the State House and in the district, including starting "Talk to Tara Tuesdays," an interactive Instagram questionnaire further connecting the legislator to his constituents.

"I've always worked on my own brand, but being in charge of somebody else's brand is a whole different level of responsibility," she says. "You're writing captions a certain way; making a politician's profile is a lot different than making your own profile."

On the surface her specific studies may not have direct connection to an internship with a state legislator, but she was able to weave her on-campus experiences into a specialized off-campus journey.

"They're all different things, but I think they go together," she says. "I like the idea of using creativity as a form of advocacy."

She said she wants to pursue a career in politics, perhaps as a social media director for campaigns.

"I could see myself doing a lot of different things," Terry says. "I think having this experience could just open the door for a lot of different career paths."

Terry adds she learned a lot about lawmaking this summer, but has also learned a lot about herself. Her internship was the first time the Atlanta native has been away from home during the break. She became familiar with how state government works, and got to know Hong's district, which includes the city of Lowell.

She also caught a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of the nuts-and-bolts aspects of the legislative process.

"One thing I thought was interesting was that when the representatives are writing up a bill they don't have to put it in that formal language you see in the final product," Terry says. "They just write a list of what they want in the bill and then it goes to another office."