Notre Dame Scholar Interns on Capitol Hill

Hailey Abrams is a junior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in political science and pursuing a minor in the interdisciplinary Hesburgh Program in Public Service. From August to December of last year, Hailey served as a GRACE intern working for the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C.

“I found that it was a place where I could do meaningful work.”

As an intern, Hailey helped the GRACE team’s work advocating on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a non-governmental organization founded in 1913 with the mission to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Hailey’s work spanned a wide range of issues, including: hate crime, domestic terrorism, religious freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, police and criminal justice reform, immigration, Middle East peace, global anti-Semitism, international religious freedom, and human rights.

“I really connected with the message of the Anti-Defamation League,” Hailey says. “I found that it was a place where I could do meaningful work.”

After graduating, Hailey hopes to gain more legislative experience working on Capitol Hill in a congressional office or to join a grassroots organization. Another current dream is to work with Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and her national voting rights organization, Fair Fight.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this time in D.C.,” Hailey says of her time with the ADL. “I was able to help an organization create change in our country.”