How the Ronald Reagan Fellowship Helps Launch Careers in the Freedom Movement

For students and young professionals who want to build a career advancing liberty, public policy, and constitutional principles, the Goldwater Institute’s Ronald Reagan Fellowship offers more than just an internship—it offers a launchpad.

In a recent Goldwater webinar, Goldwater staff members and former fellows shared how the experience helped shape their careers and opened doors across the freedom movement. Their stories made clear that the fellowship is designed not only to give students practical experience, but also to connect them with mentors, networks, and long-term career opportunities.

As Cameron Teel, now Goldwater’s Donor Relations Manager and a former Reagan Fellow, explained, the fellowship gives undergraduate students the chance to work in communications, development, or policy, while law students can complete a clerkship with the Institute’s litigation team. It is, she said, “an amazing way to learn more about what a nonprofit policy and litigation organization does” and to “start thinking about your future career in this type of work.”

That real-world exposure was a recurring theme throughout the discussion. Fiona Baum, Goldwater’s Marketing and Digital Communications Manager, emphasized that fellows should take initiative and make the most of the opportunity. “The internship is what you make of it,” she said. “Go after what you want and ask to do projects. Ask to write blog posts, ask to be involved with whatever you’re interested in.”

Baum pointed to her own experience as an intern in Goldwater’s communications department. Wanting to do more, she approached leadership and asked for added responsibility. That decision helped her build writing and digital media experience that later proved valuable in her career.

The webinar also highlighted one of the fellowship’s most important benefits: access to a broader liberty-minded network. Fellows are exposed not only to Goldwater’s work, but also to organizations across the country. Baum said one of her biggest discoveries was learning “that there was a whole network of like-minded policy centers, litigation shops, and think tanks all across the country.”

For many participants, those connections turn into long-term career opportunities. Teel described how her Goldwater fellowship led to a role at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and eventually helped bring her back to Goldwater full-time. “It was so helpful that I was already connected with all of you guys at Goldwater,” she said. “Everyone already knew me and remembered me from my internship.”

Former fellow Ryan McDonald said the program “over-prepared” him for his first role after working at Goldwater by exposing him to a wide variety of policy issues. “You have such a good base of background knowledge on such a variety of different topics,” he said.

For Parker Jackson, now a staff attorney at Goldwater, the fellowship was instrumental in helping him build relationships with the litigation team and ultimately secure his current role. “I certainly wouldn’t have my job today without the fellowship,” he said.

The message from the webinar was clear: for students interested in advancing freedom, the Ronald Reagan Fellowship is more than a résumé line. It is a hands-on opportunity to learn, grow, and begin building a meaningful career in the liberty movement.

Click here to apply to be a Ronald Reagan Fellow.