Every summer, Washington, D.C. welcomes thousands of students from across the country who come to the nation’s capital to learn, work, and build the foundations of their future careers. For Florida students spending their summer in the D.C. area, Florida House on Capitol Hill offers a unique opportunity to do more than simply experience the city.
This summer, Florida House once again hosted Summer Intern Seminar Series, a seven-week program designed to bring Florida’s interns together with members of Congress, federal leaders, congressional staff, and other influential voices from across Washington D.C. This is one of the Embassy’s longest standing programs. The Summer Intern Seminar Series was created to give Florida students an opportunity to connect with one another while gaining a firsthand perspective on the many different career paths available in Washington.
Over the course of the summer, more than 300 individual students participated in the series, representing a wide variety of colleges, universities, academic backgrounds, hometowns, and career interests from throughout Florida.
Each week, students gathered at Florida House for conversations with leaders working at the highest levels of government and public service. Rather than simply hearing about Washington from a textbook or classroom, students had the opportunity to ask questions, share their own experiences, and hear directly from professionals about how they built their careers.
Summer Intern Seminar Series Speakers, 2026: Rep. Aaron Bean (FL-04), Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL-25), Rep. Brian Mast (FL-21), Rep. John Rutherford (FL-05)
The speakers represented an impressive cross-section of Washington, including members of Congress, congressional staff, NASA leadership, U.S. Supreme Court employees, and other leaders in government and public service. For students interested in government, law, science, communications, public policy, international affairs, and countless other fields, the speakers demonstrated an important lesson: there is no single path to a career in Washington D.C.
The Summer Intern Seminar Series is part of Florida House’s broader mission to connect, celebrate, and champion Florida. By bringing students from across the state together in Washington, Florida House helps strengthen the network of Floridians building careers in the nation’s capital.
By Natanel Mizrahi, 2026 Intern