Charlie Doody

Full Name: Charlie Doody

Hometown, city, and state or country: Canton, MA

Degree and Graduation year: Communication and Public Policy, 2026

Where I am interning: The Office of Grants and Research in Braintree, MA

What I am doing there: During my internship, I reviewed grant applications for several grant programs that our office runs including the Municipal Road Safety, State Agency Traffic Safety, and the Nonprofit Security grant programs. I also worked with the communication department to draft and publish press releases.

The most important thing I am learning: I left this experience with a much greater understanding of how state government is structured and how their processes are organized. By working with the state government, you definitely feel like your actions have more immediate impact because you are working on a much smaller scale than you would be federally.

What surprised me the most: Wherever you intern, you need to remember you are not there by accident and that your employer was intentional about searching for an intern. I was pleasantly surprised by how happy everyone in the office was to have me there, even those not in my specific department.

Why I’m studying public policy: I am studying public policy because in any sector, effective governance and regulation is key to success. I think it is so important to understand how to initiate positive change from the top-down, in any context.

Future plans: Taking policy classes abroad this summer in Copenhagen and hopefully working in PR for a government agency post-grad.