The Stanford Democrats and College Republicans did something last night that few of their counterparts in Washington can boast: they worked together.

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Mae Ryan

Bobby Lepore, president of the Stanford Democrats, and Megan Reiss, head of the Stanford Republicans, talked to students about summer internships in Washington DC

As co-sponsors of “Public Service Internship Night,” both groups bridged the partisan divide to offer students an in-depth look at how to apply for public service internships at both state and local levels.

“The truth is, though we might disagree ideologically at times, the Stanford Democrats and the College Republicans have at least one very important goal in common: to help inspire interest in government and policy on campus,” said senior and Dems President Bobby Lepore.

To meet this goal, both clubs joined forces to provide students with a forum in Tressider Union that showcased personal anecdotes from previous public service interns as well as insider tips on how to land summer positions. They also worked with the Career development Center (CDC) and former interns to compile a comprehensive list of public service positions, which they distributed to students attending the event.

Senior and College Republicans President Megan Reiss and Lepore both said that they were motivated to sponsor the forum because they wanted to make the Herculean task of internship hunting easier for students.

“Navigating your way through the political scene can be a lot about who you know,” Lepore said. “The CDC offers a lot of great workshops, but we thought a forum where students could hear from their peers about the opportunities that are available specifically in public service was definitely something that was missing.”

Sophomore and Dems Political Director Beth D’Aunno said she was excited about the event because it provided a unique student perspective.

“It gave students a chance to hear a candid description of day-to-day life in various internships and how those experiences have benefited students once they’ve returned to Stanford,” she said. “Often those are the kinds of answers that would be hard to wrangle out of CDC advisors.”

Lepore said the Dems have been looking to work side-by-side with the Republicans for some time. With the conservative group rebounding from a brief period of inactivity, bipartisan cooperation is now possible, he added.

“As for collaborations, this has been a wonderful experience,” Reiss said. “It sheds light on our similarities and non-partisan vision.”

Lepore shared her sentiment and said that he looked forward to future collaboration between the organizations.

“I think the leaderships of both of our groups understand that we can be very successful at motivating the student body to stay interested in government when we collaborate,” he said. “I think there’s a recognition that even when we disagree we are still working to inspire civic engagement on campus and push the national debate forward.”

Junior Amber Davis expressed mixed feelings about the event.

“I didn’t really get an opportunity to talk to anyone because there are so many people here and far few internship alumni to talk to,” Davis said. “But, the handouts were pretty helpful, and I must say that they made an effort to encourage students to reach out to other students, which is more than a lot of organizations on campus can say.”