After graduating in the spring, alumna Katie Deutsch is getting a sneak peek into what she hopes to do in the future. Alongside three other interns, Deutsch came out to Washington D.C. to work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the Office of the General Council as a research and analytics intern.

As an intern, Deutsch works alongside economists in conducting judicial and legislative research while also providing analytical services.

“A lot of what I’m doing is a mix economic and legal research in past case law and what economic theories were accepted, what was dispelled by which judges, what approaches worked for cases the EEOC is currently litigating or in mediation,” Deutsch said. “It’s very project based by cases. So, cases that economists are supporting the attorneys and General Counsel on.”

Originally, Deutsch applied for an internship at the EEOC that was only available to second or third year law students, but after her application was viewed by the internship coordinator, it was then forwarded to the General Counsel’s unit of non-lawyers, economists and industrial psychologists that give an ‘economic and social science analysis to support the EEOC’s discrimination claims,’ and was then extended an internship under one of their economists.

“I applied anyways because, at the time, I was writing my senior thesis on the EEOC’s role in the elevation of women in the labor market.,” Deutsch said. “So, seeing how the EEOC has been in the past in elevating women in the economic and labor market based on the power they had at the time. From that, I knew I wanted to intern at the EEOC and learn more about them hands-on.”

“The worst they can say is no,” Deutsch said. “Just slide into their DM’s, slide in and make that connection.”

Every day isn’t just a day in the office for Deutsch, however. Since Deutsch has received funding for her internship through the B.A. Rudolf Foundation (as well as Wichita State’s Honors College and the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society), she attends events put on by the foundation. Just recently, Deutsch met former Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

“Through the foundation I have a network of friends now who are other young women in D.C.,” Deutsch said. “Bonding with those people really humanizes the city and it helps me see what other people do in the D.C. and diversifies it and shows all the types of people that are here.”

“It changes day-to-day,” Deutsch said about her work. “A lot of it is within the depths of Lexus [a legal research program], a lot of research, it changes based on our opportunities.”

Deutsch plans on attending law school to obtain her Juris Doctorate with a focus in labor law and civil rights after she takes a gap year. She then plans on working in public service ‘to further equity among marginalized groups within the labor market.’

“I was always interested in civil rights law, particularly Title IX and Title VII,” Deutsch said. “I was involved in the Title IX Student Alliance in this past year. I’ve always been interested, but I think I honed in on my interest through my research and through my internship.”