Upon the conclusion of the summer seminar series hosted by the Stephenson Institute for Classical Liberalism in June, Dr. Daniel D’Amico graciously offered me a position at the institute as an intern and research assistant. Two months later, I say with full confidence that this summer internship offers unparalleled opportunities and avenues for students at Wabash, cultivating a variety of pertinent workplace skillsets while also granting students like myself the opportunity to ask questions about their future post-Wabash.
For instance, as one of the inaugural summer interns
for the Stephenson Institute, I assisted in preparing the physical institute for regular functions and operations during the school year, as we plan to host six speakers lecturing on the intellectual ideas
and history of classical liberalism. Moreover, I compiled a 150-page reading set for the inaugural Gentlemen’s Classic Colloquium between Wabash and Hampden-Sydney College titled, “The
Liberal Art of Manliness: A Gentleman’s Guide to Liberty.” The topics of the colloquium cover Wabash and Hampden-Sydney’s institutional rules (or lack thereof) evoking self-governance, essays by Professors Rogge and Goodrich on liberty and free societies, as well as applying classical liberal themes to contemporary issues in philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE).
Regarding research, I worked extensively with Dr. D’Amico to begin work on papers tracing the designs and philosophies playing fundamental roles in modern prisons through Jeremy Bentham and Michel Foucault, ultimately relating said notions to neoliberalism. As this internship comes to a close, the intellectual ideas and experiences exposed to me this summer as well as the connections I’ve made have inspired me to consider pursuing graduate school abroad post-Wabash. Ideally, I would
continue my studies within the disciplines of classical liberalism and PPE. I would like to thank Dr. D’Amico and Violet Benge for being kind and insightful mentors, and I fervently look forward to working with them in the near future.
