Ginger Kieffer will spend her spring semester in the nation’s capital
Ginger Kieffer graduated in 2013 from Caribou High School and is studying political science at the University of Maine in Orono.
“We are excited for her,” said Lehrle Kieffer Thursday. “She’s been interested in political science for quite a while; it must be from when her grandfather, Leo Kieffer, was a senator.”
The elder Kieffer represented the region in the Maine State Senate from 1994-2000, and was assistant minority leader and majority leader during his tenure.
According to Lehrle Kieffer, the internships offer students a variety of experiences to help them find out where their talents and interests lie.
“I think she’s going to be doing a mixed bag,” she said. “They told her that interns do a variety of things. So far she has called all the different senators’ offices to get contact numbers for who is to be called for different pieces of legislation.”
Ginger had interned last fall at Collins’ Bangor office, where she took phone calls and met with people.
“She’ll be doing some of that down there [in Washington], and working with some legislative things,” Lehrle Kieffer said. “They’ve also had her working with someone reviewing tapes relating to cyberterrorism for the senator.”
The younger Kieffer will live in the capital for her entire spring semester, through May. Interns are housed in dorm-like apartments, her mother said, three to a room. “Cars are too expensive to park down there, so she walks. She has just a 20-minute walk to the office.”
While in Washington, she has also come in contact with another Caribou native, Andrew “Drew” Freme, who now works full-time for Collins as digital director in her office.
Her mother acknowledged with a laugh that while Ginger has inherited the governmental bug, the rest of the family aren’t quite the political types. “She got to ride the elevator next to John Kerry, and she was so excited. Her sister said, ‘Who’s John Kerry?’”
Ginger’s time in Washington will give her a taste of an exciting environment and life in a bigger city, but sometimes that just isn’t everything.
“She was missing the snow last night, that’s for sure,” her mother noted. “You can’t take the County out of the girl.”
“Ginger is a terrific student and a hard worker, and I am delighted to welcome her to Washington, D.C.,” said Collins in a press release. “It is always an honor to give students the opportunity to become actively involved in the legislative process and to serve the citizens of Maine.”
Kieffer will graduate from UMaine in May 2017 with a degree in political science. Upon graduation, she plans to continue her education in international politics and pursue a career at the State Department or in the international non-profit sector.
