UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Teagan Mayr completed an international internship in Ireland this past summer as part of the Perreault Fellows Program — a fellowship program that offers Penn State students a global and cross-cultural leadership, ethics, service and mentoring experience focused on health and the betterment of human condition.

Mayr, a fourth-year student double majoring in political science and broadcast journalism and double-minoring in civic and community engagement and public policy and leadership across sectors, began the competitive application process at the start of her third year and then took the rest of the year to plan the logistics of her internship. Her hard work culminated in this past summer’s eight-week fellowship in Dublin, Ireland, working in the campaign field.

“Penn State Global was very hands-on with finding internships and accommodations,” Mayr said. “We had the freedom to go where we wanted, but the internship had to help someone in some capacity. I was very interested in Europe, so I chose Dublin as it was election season in Ireland.”

Mayr, who is from Orlando, Florida, interned for the Think-tank for Action on Social Change (TASC) as a research and communications intern. While there, she was able to assist in government-sponsored research, including the Inequality Research Report focused on housing disparities in Dublin that TASC compiled while she was there.  

“I was there for the report launch and was able to assist in presenting the report and give suggestions on how to improve,” Mayr said. “The think-tank as a whole completed the research, but we split into groups to conduct smaller reports and assist with community suggestions and application of our findings.”

Given her interest and involvement in American political campaigns, she said, she was especially excited to put her knowledge and experience to use in an international political campaign. She noted the experience opened her eyes to a much broader field of politics and campaigns — and changed her perspective about future career opportunities.

“I was previously dead set on campaign management, but this internship opened my eyes to academia and research,” Mayr said. “I also was introduced to a completely different work environment outside the United States. Work is so much more prevalent here, but in Ireland they are so much more flexible and unplugged after the workday, which meant I was able to explore new hobbies and embark on other opportunities.”

As a result of her fellowship experience, Mayr was able to find a stronger intersection between her two majors and explore more career paths supporting campaigns. The skills she gained as a Perrault Fellow are ones she will use throughout her entire career since they apply to numerous areas of interest.

“Being able to see how my work impacted people showed the importance of all the skills I’ve gained,” Mayr said. “I learned how all these new skills are so connected, too — the research we conducted couldn’t have happened without the funding we worked to gain on the communications side of things.”

Mayr added she would not have succeeded in this internship without the skills and knowledge — and confidence — she gained as a Penn State student.

“I realized that I had acquired so many skills at Penn State that I didn’t know I had but was able to implement,” she said. “I was able to communicate very effectively, which I had learned through my journalism classes. I was also able to contribute what I knew about Ireland’s government systems, as well as multiple other countries, due to my political science education.”

In addition to her campaigning experiences this summer and in previous roles, Mayr serves as a Student Advisory Board member for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. She is also part of the Next Gen Leadership Academy offered by the School of Public Policy. Earlier this year, she was nominated as the Next Gen Ambassador for Penn State and traveled to Arizona to engage with other ambassadors and experts in conversations on the future of public policy leadership.

Participating in an international educational experience had always been a goal of Mayr’s, she said, but was one she never thought would be possible due to financial constraints. Support from the Perreault Fellows Program allowed her dream to become a reality.

“I love to travel and love the idea of working abroad, but it was never a financial option for me,” Mayr said. “I was looking at a few opportunities and stumbled upon the fellowship. One of my friends from a political science class who was a previous fellow talked about how great it was, so I decided to apply. It was one of the best decisions.”