Please be advised that the application period for the March 2026 Externship Experience has now closed.
In-person externship with Chicago-area homestay for one or two externs, March 2026.
Externs will deep dive into forming policy and legislation through a community lens, creating popular aid programs, and structuring mutual aid and immigration rapid response efforts during times of crisis in our communities. Graciela will tailor the experience to the student’s interests, both in terms of tactics and issues. Visit Senator Guzman for more insight.
This experience will involve a combination of in-person work with community programs, in-office research time, external visits to stakeholders, and interoffice collaboration with our sister government offices on immigration and mutual aid efforts. This experience offers an opportunity to participate in community planning processes within a progressive office in a diverse community.
Bilingual Spanish is preferred but not required. A special encouragement for low-income, first-generation, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ families, community organizers, mutual aid folks, and those interested in disruption to please apply. The office can provide tech as needed. Dress code is nice casual to business casual.
Externs may meet and interact with:
- Lindsey LaPointe – State Representative and Grinnellian
- Laura Ellman – State Senator and Grinnellian
- Stephanie Altman – Shriver Center and Grinnellian
- Angelica Dichosa – City of Chicago and Grinnellian
- Office Staff: Caitlin Brady
- Chief of Staff: Sandra Puebla
- Constituent Affairs Director: Mel Lopez
- Constituent Affairs Specialist: Jorge Cardona Herrera
- Constituent Affairs Specialist: Anthony Sandoval
Returning host Graciela Guzmán (she/her/ella) serves as the state senator for District 20. She has served as chief of staff to a former senator, political director, and organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union.
Her passion for healthcare, community, and helping others stems from her family’s early experiences immigrating to the US from El Salvador to escape the Salvadoran Civil War. She graduated from Grinnell (2011) with a degree in anthropology and serves on its Board of Trustees.
Graciela has organized policy campaigns focused on healthcare, child welfare, economic justice, and immigration. As campaign director for Healthy Illinois, Graciela secured a key victory by making Illinois the first state in the nation to expand healthcare to low-income adults aged 55 and older, regardless of their immigration status. She has also led wide-ranging mutual aid efforts and immigration rapid response initiatives to combat authoritarianism.
Graciela writes: “I was a first generation low-income student originally from LA. Majored in anthropology and love using that to foster strong relationships with community. I sing for funsies and mostly spend a lot of time organizing responses against deportation.”
Externship details: Senator Guzmán will cover some meals, and the extern(s) will have access to public transportation. The homestay will be with another Chicago-area alum.
Students may contact me at this email ahead of submitting their application.
Application window: January 2–12, 2026, for March 2026
To apply for this externship, submit your application materials including the It’s a Match form, one-page résumé, and cover letter as specified in the resource: Externship Experience Information for Students.
We recommend you make an appointment to review your application materials with a CLS adviser before submitting. Questions? Email: externships@grinnell.edu.
Students may contact me at this email ahead of submitting their application.
Application window: January 2–12, 2026, for March 2026
To apply for this externship, submit your application materials including the It’s a Match form, one-page résumé, and cover letter as specified in the resource: Externship Experience Information for Students.
We recommend you make an appointment to review your application materials with a CLS adviser before submitting. Questions? Email: externships@grinnell.edu.