Penn State student explores transportation policy through Washington internship

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jansen Hoffard, a fourth-year Penn State student dual-majoring in international politics with a concentration in national security and communication arts and sciences, spent the summer living and working in Washington, D.C., through the College of the Liberal Arts Semester in Washington Program. Hoffard, who has a minor in politics and public policy, was one of 11 students who participated in the program’s inaugural summer.

Housed in the Department of Political Science, the program allows students to spend a summer living and working as interns in Washington, gaining firsthand exposure to the inner workings of politics.

A Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar, Hoffard had long been interested in how he could use his education to serve and contribute to the public good. Enrichment funding through the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network and additional support from the Schreyer Honors College which helped to make those aspirations a reality.

Hoffard spent the summer working as a policy intern with Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), a nonprofit organization that helps advance research, employment and implementation of intelligent transportation systems. While there, Hoffard conducted legislative analyses, monitored developments from the U.S. Department of Transportation, and attended events and hearings on Capitol Hill. He also published a capstone project, “On Home Soil: How Policies and Investments for the 2026 World Cup in North America Have Impacted and Protected Transportation Infrastructure.”

Through the project, Hoffard connected his interest in soccer with his work in transportation policy, examining how U.S. cities invested in and upgraded transportation infrastructure in preparation to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“I got to be in some pretty cool rooms with representatives, senators and other people in politics,” he said.

Throughout the summer, Hoffard and his peers lived together in an apartment building in downtown Washington, allowing them to build relationships outside their internships and program activities.

“There’s something to be said about getting to experience a new place with people you already know,” Hoffard said. “It was helpful to have people from a familiar setting in such a new environment.”

Experiences such as these have helped shape Hoffard’s involvement in other areas at Penn State as well. He is currently a peer adviser in the College of the Liberal Arts, for example, which gives him the chance to help other students chart and navigate their Penn State experiences.

“Three or four years ago, I looked up to the peer advisers, thinking, ‘This is what my future could look like — having things figured out at Penn State,’” he said. “Being on the other end of what it takes to welcome first-year students and being that touchstone has made me happy to give it back to them.”

Hoffard’s involvement at Penn State extends beyond peer advising. He previously participated in Club Track and briefly wrote for The Daily Collegian. He is also a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, and serves as the organization’s social media chair this year.

Hoffard has also gained undergraduate research experience. During his third year, he worked as a research assistant with graduate students and faculty in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, coding and collecting data and administering surveys.

Together, Hoffard said, his academic experiences, extracurricular involvement and summer in Washington have helped him become a more engaged and confident student. He credits the Paterno Fellows Program with helping him develop the skills to take advantage of those opportunities.

“The Paterno Fellows Program has provided me the academic exposure I needed to reach my potential,” he said. “This program has helped me apply my skills not only to tasks in the college context, but in the real world as well.”

As graduation approaches, Hoffard plans to take a gap year to work or teach abroad, building international experience and contributing to local communities. He said he then hopes to attend graduate school before working in public service in Washington.

“All of my experiences at Penn State, from clubs to academic programs, allowed me to gain exposure to different sides of myself and interests I didn’t know I had,” he said. “I’ve been able to engage more closely with the Penn State community and apply my skills in different environments and areas of interest.”

Applications are now open for the summer 2027 Liberal Arts Semester in Washington Program. Interested students can learn more and apply through the program website by Friday, Oct. 2. Additional information about the Semester in Washington can also be obtained by contacting program director Marie Hojnacki, associate professor and associate head of the Penn State Department of Political Science, or program coordinator Molly Inman, Penn State assistant teaching professor of political science.

This is the fifth in a series of stories featuring students participating in the inaugural Liberal Arts Semester in Washington Program.