This summer, I have had the amazing opportunity to serve the State Department as an intern in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) in the Management Assistance and Program Support Division (MAPS). As a bureau, INL works to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.

As a Bureau, INL consistently receives a heavy amount of appropriated funding to continue to carry out its meaningful mission. INL is a program heavy Bureau and is subdivided into Program and Functional offices which help to carry out its overall mission. INL program offices consist of Afghanistan and Pakistan (AP), Africa and Middle East (AME), Europe and Asia (EA), and Western Hemisphere Programs (WHP). INL’s functional offices consist of Aviation (A), Anti-Crime Programs (C), Criminal Justice assistance and Partnership (CAP), and Policy Planning and Coordination (PC). Finally, The Resource Management Division Offices (RM) consist of a variety of supportive offices including MAPS – the division that I worked in.

During my time at INL, I got to work on a multitude of trainings, department projects, and bureau protocols. When I first started at INL, I was responsible for being part of the planning and oversight team for INL 101 – a crash course on the bureau, and its capabilities, aimed at foreign and civil service officials, in between their time at embassy posts, or headquarters assignments. This experience served as a great opportunity to familiarize myself with the Bureau and gain in depth knowledge of how INL functions as a greater part of the state department, while being able to converse and network with high level foreign and civil service personnel.

Additionally, I was given a leading role in the development, creation, and manipulation of several critical accountability databases for the departments property, construction, and contractual information at overseas embassy posts. Engaging in this detailed analytical work really gave me a better idea of the overall scope, mission, and capability of the INL Bureau, and just how broad and global their reach is. Other projects throughout my tenure at INL involved establishing current points of contact (POC) with embassy and program officials for the department, as well as attending and participating in high level meetings, trainings, and educational events put on by the division, bureau, and greater state department.

While the exposure to working in the Federal Government was certainly informative and beneficial to my career goals, I was also blessed to work with a team that was incredibly welcoming, and supportive of my efforts, and contributions to the departments mission. I established a variety of long term relationships, and critical contacts with experienced individuals that I am grateful for. Overall, working at the State Department and INL as an intern has been a great learning experience, and I will be better off professionally and personally for having served in such a role.

Scott Clements in front of the State Department in DC

Scott Clements completed the MPA degree in 2018.

MPA Degree at the Maxwell School

Maxwell-in-Washington Program

All Global Programs