Meet the Congressional App Challenge’s Summer 2023 Interns
Congressional App Challenge welcomes the new cohort of Summer 2023 interns: UC Berkeley students Emma Solomon, Brynn Baker, and David Awakim, and Emory University student Gabriel Schwartz.
Emma Solomon is a rising junior at UC Berkeley studying political science and journalism. She currently works as a Congressional Affairs intern at the Congressional App Challenge and is super excited to apply her interest with the growing tech sector to government policy. Outside of work and school, Emma is the head opinion editor at the Daily Californian Newspaper, and is a competitive delegate on the UC Berkeley Model United Nations team. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano, exploring national parks, and listening to Taylor Swift.
Brynn Baker is a rising third year political science major at the University of California, Berkeley. Her subfield specialization within the Political Science department is Empirical Analysis and Quantitative Methods, as she is interested in the intersection between political research, policymaking, social justice, and data analytics. She completed a minor in journalism last summer, and is working toward an additional minor in Spanish. Growing up, she gained experience in local political campaign work, journalism, education access advocacy, and led a language exchange program at her high school. In high school, she had the opportunity to participate as a student delegate in the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). She is now a participant in the Cal in the Capital program, through which she is spending the summer in Washington D.C., working as a Congressional Affairs Intern for the Congressional App Challenge.
David Awakim is one of Congressional App Challenge’s Congressional Affairs Interns, and a “fresh face ready to learn a lot”. He is a rising senior at the University of California, Berkeley, studying mathematics with a wide range of interests, from theater, to engineering, and politics. He frequents the historical sword fighting, kendo, and archery clubs at Berkeley, and loves exploring with friends. When he has a moment to himself, he likes playing chess and “jumping to a new weekly obsession– right now it’s Horizon Forbidden West and Don McLean!”
Gabriel Schwartz is a rising sophomore at Emory University, majoring in business and quantitative sciences. He is originally from Washington, DC, where he learned how data can relate to politics and the government. At Emory, he is involved in the Student Programming Council, planning events and concerts for the undergraduate population. Gabe found the Congressional App Challenge when searching for an internship that centered around relating data to education and government. In his free time, Gabe enjoys playing guitar, tennis, and listening to music.