Early mornings, late nights and fully scheduled afternoons aren’t what most college students would call a perfect summer. However, Cari Lutkins, Lee Bonner and Paige Lindgren would have to disagree.
They are part of a group of UA alumni and current students who have been working in Cleveland, Ohio for the Republican National Convention. The convention is scheduled to take place at the Quicken Loans Arena July 18–21.
Lutkins, 22, is a recent UA graduate who is currently employed by the RNC as the Associate Director for Regional and Caucus Media. She was living in Washington, D.C. when she was recruited for the position by another UA alumnus. She enthusiastically accepted, and in May, made her way west for the convention.
“Basically my job is media relations,” Lutkins said. “So a lot of it is making sure we’re staying ahead of the press.”
She said that work days have recently become much longer since the convention is practically right around the corner. This has often meant getting to the office at 7:15 a.m. and not leaving until around 8:30 p.m. However, Lutkins said the experience has been more than worth it. And she is not alone.
“I’ve never had so much responsibility before,” said Internal Affairs Intern Lee Bonner. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Bonner, a junior at Alabama, said a large portion of her job is dealing with elected officials and making sure they have the correct forms and credentials in place. This is no small task. She said there are currently 3,000 credentials that need to be sorted between now and the start of the convention. Bonner believes these undertakings are just some of the finer details that most people don’t realize.
Another fellow intern and friend of Bonner is UA senior Paige Lindgren. Lindgren has been interning for the digital department of the RNC for the past two months.
“Digital is in charge of all the content that goes out on social media,” she said. “A lot of it is brainstorming different ideas and then producing that content for the web.”
Lindgren also said the job keeps her on her toes because each day is exciting and different from the last.
When asked about their best memories of working for the RNC so far, all three women had a common answer: the friendships and connections they made.
Lutkins has gotten to meet professionals from many major networks, including CNN and Fox News. Bonner and Lindgren both have gotten to shake hands with delegates and elected officials.
However, it’s not just politicians that have made an impression on the women, but other employees and interns as well.
“We’ve got a really great intern group with us,” Lindgren said. “I’m really lucky to be working with such great people.”
Bonner echoed Lindgren’s sentiments, saying the group of interns came together quickly, and they now talk about coming back to work together at future conventions.
Lutkins said the University has one of the largest groups of alumni and students working at the convention, and they have all bonded from representing the Capstone.
With the RNC less than a week away, all three women say they can’t wait to see the hard work of everyone involved finally come together. Bonner and Lindgren both said if given the chance, they would most like to meet Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
As far as their plans for after the convention, Lutkins will be returning to Washington for the start of a new job. Both Bonner and Lindgren will travel back to Tuscaloosa for the beginning of the fall semester.
“I’ll definitely be taking a few days at the beach,” Bonner said.
