SPAA Internship Spotlight: Kristopher Ezzard – Office of Assemblyman John F. McKeon

Name: Kristopher Ezzard
Degree Program: Public and Nonprofit Administration (BA)
Graduation Date: May 2025
Name of Organization: Assemblyman John F. McKeon’s District Office
Location of Internship: Madison, New Jersey
Title: Legislative Intern

Summary of Responsibilities:
My responsibilities included answering phones, recording constituent concerns, researching policy, and creating/labeling mailers.

Favorite Aspect of Internship:
My favorite part of the internship was growing my communication skills while talking on the phone. While the action itself isn’t fun, the fact that I know I am forcing myself to grow and practice speaking in a professional setting is what means a lot to me. I have been able to replicate this newly improved skill in other places of work outside of my internship site as well.

Career Goals:
My career goals include working somewhere between the public and private sector in the field of grant writing. I think that the ability to allocate funds where they are needed in a rapidly developing world is important and does not get enough credit. Whether it be for public works, emergency response, or infrastructure investment, the United States needs more talented individuals with the skill and connections to move money to where it could be most useful.

How did the Service-learning course help you navigate your internship responsibilities?: The Service-learning course helped me analyze and evaluate what I learned and applied by hosting discussion boards and peer-to-peer communication about our shared experiences this summer. While I have embodied everything I have learned along the way, recording it in written form and expressing my experience reinforced that.

What kind of skills did you learn during this internship?
Working the office phones and documenting calls is an important skill because learning the ability to properly record messages can be useful in other careers, especially in constituent casework.

Has your mentoring part of the internship been helpful in navigating your career goals?
The mentoring part of my internship was integral toward navigating my career goals, as my peers and mentor gave me the advice to follow grant writing. During my time there, I learned about the various fields and responsibilities that are involved in state and local government, which exposed me to a variety of jobs that I could potentially find myself learning even more about.