While currently working as a press intern in the office of U.S. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Faith Wilson JMS’24 was recently named a John Robert Lewis Fellow 2025-2026, one of only 13 American students and post-graduates to earn this prestigious fellowship. 

As a SC&I undergrad, Wilson said she began to think about her career prospects. “I started thinking bigger about what I wanted to do. Yes, I was studying journalism, but after being at SC&I, I began thinking about how I could combine my interests in law and policy with journalism and continue expanding myself,” Wilson said.

In our Q&A, Wilson describes how her interests in law and policy initially began and then were cemented at SC&I, her career goals, and her commitment to advocacy.

SC&I: Please tell us about yourself.
FW: I’ve been in leadership and policy ever since I was a North Plainfield High School student. After reading plenty of books on American history, I learned that I’d love to engage with national issues through academia. At Rutgers, I was a Leadership Scholar at the Institute for Women’s Leadership. I chose the law and advocacy pathway and led a qualitative study on Black women attorneys’ turnover rates at private law firms. I also did the Rutgers Interdisciplinary Research Team Fellowship program and studied AI governance and ethical technology practices. Taking “Social Media and Participatory Culture” with Instructor Brian Sacks was a critical turning point for me because I became interested in privacy and user data collection.

My advice to SC&I students is to get involved in Rutgers and New Jersey. If you think you want to get into policy, try interning in district offices, and then target big cities such as NYC or DC.

SC&I: Describe a typical workday as a member of the U.S. Senate majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s team. What are you learning on the job that is impacting you the most?
FW: I officially work as a press intern, and I also work with the technology and telecommunications legislative desk. As a press intern, I compile press clips across 147 publications, monitor TV mentions of the senator, and sift through the NY delegation’s press releases. Outside of this press work, I go to technology briefings, or committee hearings, and write memos on them. There’s a lot of talk on the Hill about American innovation, so it’s a great time to be here writing on these issues. I’m also learning a great deal about relationship-building in professional spaces.

SC&I: ​​Please describe the work you are doing in your other current roles: a Walmart Emerging Leaders Intern for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and a Women in AI GovernanceTM (WiAIG) Global Leadership Network Coordinator for Disparate Impacts in AI Governance. How did SC&I lead you into these positions?
FW: Being at SC&I, I saw that there was flexibility in my career options. I was studying journalism, but after being at SC&I, I began to see that I could combine my interests. That’s when I visualized my future self as more than an attorney, but a policy leader and public advocate.

I was studying journalism, but after being at SC&I, I began to see that I could combine my interests. That’s when I visualized my future self as more than an attorney, but a policy leader and public advocate.

SC&I: What part of your time at SC&I do you reflect on most fondly, and is there any advice you’d like to give SC&I students following in your footsteps?
FW: As a SC&I News Writing Intern, my fondest memory is interviewing Christoph Mergerson, Ph.D.’22 (see “Is Journalism Living Up to Its Responsibility?”). He is a faculty member at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and I was so inspired by his study of race and news media. Being a SC&I news intern also positioned me to learn more about Rutgers career resources and prepare for post-grad. 

My advice to SC&I students is to get involved in Rutgers and New Jersey. If you think you want to get into policy, try interning in district offices, and then target big cities such as NYC or DC. Research is a fantastic way of showing you’re more than just a student. So, pursue internships and fellowships, do what you can to make yourself a competitive candidate. The more things that you have done to set yourself apart, the easier time you’ll have establishing yourself in the professional world.

To learn more about Wilson, see: “The Faith and Politics Institute Names Faith Wilson JMS’24 a John Robert Lewis Fellow 2025-2026.”

Discover more about the Journalism and Media Studies major at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.

Photo: Courtesy of Faith Wilson