Danny Ruiz '17 is working as a legislative fellow in U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer's office after receiving a CHCI Public Policy Fellowship.
GENESEO, N.Y. -- SUNY Geneseo graduate Danny Ruiz ’17 recently won a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Public Policy Fellowship for 2017-2018. The nationally competitive program is designed to develop the next generation of young Latino leaders interested in a career in public policy.
The nine-month paid internship based in Washington, D.C., offers fellows the opportunity to interact with congressional offices, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and foundations. Ruiz is presently working as a legislative fellow in U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office until December and will then begin an internship with the government relations office of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), “an organization of 2-million members united by the belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide and dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society” (http://www.seiu.org/about).
In existence for nearly 40 years, CHCI works annually with 1,600 students and young professionals “on a new trajectory by inspiring high school and college completion, and then providing programs to explore public policy and leadership in our nation’s capital. These vital opportunities empower Latinos for great personal and professional achievement.” Ruiz was attracted to the potential that the CHCI program offered.
“I am always looking to help create innovative policies that benefit the Latino community and all Americans,” said Ruiz.
CHCI’s four Pillars of Leadership—civic engagement, social responsibility, self-empowerment, andp promoting community and Hispanic culture----are integral to the Public Policy Fellowship experience as fellows learn about the legislative process and meet leaders and policy makers dealing with the issues affecting the Latino community.
“Danny Ruiz is an exceptionally talented young man dedicated to public service and is undertaking an intensive training program as a CHCI Public Policy Fellow, which will build on the knowledge of government he acquired as an undergraduate in the SUNY Washington Internship program, working with New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in Washington, D.C.,” said Michael Mills, Director of National Fellowships and Scholarships at Geneseo. “The CHCI program is designed to foster the development of passionate and talented young Latinos like Danny into the leaders of tomorrow, as he simply wants to use the levers of government to bring about change and help others.”
Ruiz graduated in spring 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a public administration minor. During his undergraduate years, Ruiz also worked for the Worker’s Justice Center, which seeks to advocate for the immigrant worker population in western New York. Seeing the type of issues agricultural migrant workers face prompted him to begin the Student Coalition for Migrant Workers, a grassroots student organization that focuses on advocacy for the local migrant population and the Geneseo MILC program (Migrante Intercambio de Leguaje y Cultura). During the summer of 2017, Ruiz travelled to Mexico to explore his family roots before heading to Washington to begin his internship with CHCI.
The application period for next year’s class of CHCI Graduate Fellowship & Public Policy Fellowship will end on January 29, 2018 and the application itself can be found on the CHCI website.
For more information about the CHCI program or any other fellowship or scholarship program, contact Michael Mills, Director of National Fellowships and Scholarships at millsm@geneseo.edu or call 245-6002.