What I Learned From One Year Interning at TechCongress
One year ago, I had zero experience in the tech policy space. Now, I have learned from two cohorts of fellows, attended–and hosted–conferences, and connected with partners across civic tech. TechCongress serves as a pipeline for tech expertise into the public sector, but our mission to build government capacity goes beyond Capitol Hill. Building pipelines for talent starts with reaching young people, and while I may not yet qualify for our Congressional Innovation Fellowship, being an intern for the great team behind the fellowships has taught me invaluable lessons about government, community, and the future.
I joined the team as the Communications Intern in August 2024, working remotely from Los Angeles as a student at the University of Southern California, and continued as the Programs Intern this past summer in Washington, DC. Prior to TechCongress, I worked in nonprofits and state legislation and was involved with my university’s socially responsible technology club, but I had yet to combine the two by approaching policy from a technologist’s perspective. Serendipitously, I stumbled across a farewell post on LinkedIn from the previous TechCongress intern. The more I read about TechCongress, especially from blogs like this, the more intrigued I was about its mission. As a computer science major expecting to do software engineering, I was never exactly advertised that “tech policy advisor” was a career path. TechCongress opened the door for me to explore that possibility.
Reflecting upon the past year, I leave three lessons–in both tech policy and in life–I learned from my time with TechCongress:
1. In ever-evolving environments, work with intention.
The technology policy landscape has changed tremendously over the past five years. In January 2020, no one had heard of Zoom or ChatGPT. Now, millions of people use them everyday.
Google Trends interest over time graphs for the search terms “ai policy” (above) and “tech policy” (below) over the past five years.
My generation grew up in an environment that constantly changed. The pandemic started during my freshman year of high school, and by the time I entered college, ChatGPT had irrevocably changed higher education. Gen Z, in their formative years, have been affected by multiple rapid shifts, contrasting the structural slowness of government. Congress was designed in this way to safeguard the legislative process, but the dissonance is felt even more strongly on the topic of technology.
At TechCongress, we believe that the key to closing that gap is people. More specifically, having people equipped with the knowledge and expertise be at the table when lawmakers address technology. Over the past ten years, we have placed 123 fellows into Congressional offices and committees, and in 2026, we hope to place 20 more fellows through our largest cohort yet.
Our Programs Associate Mya St. Louis and I released TechCongress’s first Impact Report showcasing our organization’s advancement over the past ten years. This is me holding the first physical copy!
As a Programs Intern, I assisted the team throughout the fellowship timeline, coordinated outreach, and organized events. Being a part of a small team means that I also have had the opportunity to take on tasks with greater responsibility, from helping write grant reports for funders to ideating long term initiatives. Through this, I have seen from a bird’s-eye view how TechCongress communicates its goals and growth. Over the past five years, even with external shifts, TechCongress has remained relevant because of its foundational goal to share knowledge. When faced with the pandemic, we launched the Congressional Digital Service Fellowship. When faced with the rise of AI, we launched the AI Safety Fellowship. These one-time fellowships have met the challenges of emerging technology, while our flagship program continues to support the needs of Congress. This resiliency inspires me, not only as a young person navigating my professional evolution, but as a citizen hoping for more policymakers that are ready for the future.
2. People can come together when there are first spaces to be together.
During March, I visited the TechCongress office in Washington DC and met my coworkers in person for the first time. My spring break coincidentally overlapped with our 10th Anniversary Summit, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to see our months of planning come to life. It was our first time convening fellows, alumni, and partners for an entire day of talks and conversations, and besides the insight into actual tech policy happening, what I was surprised to take away was how moving it was to be a space built on simply sharing what people care about.
Seeyew Mo (TechCongress 2022 Congressional Innovation Fellow) on “Small Moves, Big Impact” during the TechCongress 10 Year Anniversary Summit this past March
Bipartisanship and bringing people together is core to TechCongress’s identity. We strive to have party parity in each of our cohorts, and we hope that bringing together fellows from different backgrounds provides more opportunities for collaboration. Having grown up in New Orleans, Louisiana, I deeply resonate with that value, and working at TechCongress has helped shape how I communicate with others to find common ground for incremental change.
The TC team at Code for America Summit and the AI+Expo earlier this summer
3. Build trust in organizations by building trust in its people.
I love TechCongress’s mission and the work that we do, but I love the people that I work with even more. The TechCongress team has made this past year unforgettable. From eating lunch together every Wednesday to reflecting on our growth during a team retreat to the National Arboretum, the saying “the people make the place” rings true. Even with the number of staff doubling in the past two years, the culture of trust TechCongress has built has stood strong.
Whenever I find myself in periods of uncertainty, I think back upon the trust that the team has given me. Every single person at TechCongress–Travis, Grace, Mallory, Mya, Timour, and especially my direct supervisor and mentor Aleena–has been incredibly supportive of my growth. They see me as more than just an intern, but as an individual.
I came to Washington DC with an outsider’s perspective. What I left with was the understanding that at the end of the day, people are people. And people want trust: in government, in institutions, and in other people. TechCongress is just one part of making that a reality. It starts with building trust that the people in government are equipped with the expertise to make decisions. It continues with bringing people together for face-to-face conversations to connect as individuals. And hopefully, it ends with a government ready to serve its people through innovation, into the future.
Thank you TechCongress!
Christina You
This piece was written by Christina You, a former TechCongress intern (Fall 2024-Summer 2025).
Christina You is a student at the University of Southern California studying Computer Science and Philosophy, Politics, and Law. Christina has a background in grassroots advocacy and state legislation with the New Orleans Children & Youth Planning Board and the Louisiana Legislative Youth Council. She also served as a tech policy fellow for the Paragon Policy Fellowship and led Shift SC, USC’s first and only student-led organization for socially responsible technology.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/youchris/