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By Daniel Johnson, Justice and Legal Thought College Park Scholar
The most important part of my internship was ensuring that financial procedures were being observed properly by other components within the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that the taxpayer’s dollar was not being misused.
My internship with the Department of Homeland Security was focused within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, in the Financial Assistance and Policy Oversight (FAPO) division. My internship required government clearance and a background check before receiving approval. My internship was also completely virtual, and I received materials from Homeland Security to complete my internship from my home. I reported directly to the director of FAPO, Vince Sprouls, who was incredibly helpful with my transition into this new role, providing background and advice for completing assignments for him and other assistant directors in the division. The most important part of my internship was ensuring that financial procedures were being observed properly by other components within the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that the taxpayer’s dollar was not being misused. My division was essentially the step before an official audit; all of the notices of funding opportunities were sent to us and we then reviewed and made sure that the objectives of government projects were truthful and legitimate. Additionally, my office did extensive financial research into the spending habits of the dozens of Homeland Security components to ensure that there was not consistent misuse of funds or unreasonable financial requests. This matters because if certain components had millions of dollars appropriated to their efforts that were going unspent, then the Department in general would not be helping the country remain safe and secure as efficiently as possible. It is critical that every dollar allocated by Congress is being used effectively, and our division made sure that this was true throughout Homeland Security.
Daniel,
What really caught my attention was your place of work. The department of Homeland Security is a big deal when it comes to government based internships. The area in which you worked, the financial side of things as well as it being virtual were really interesting. One question I have is would you work there again once everything opens up or was the online environment adequate.
Hi Daniel,
What caught my attention was that you interned with Department of Homeland Security which I think is pretty cool. I also like that although it was virtual, you still got to do alot & make an impact. How was the overall experience for you ?
The office in which you interned really caught my attention. It seems like you were trusted with a lot of responsibility and sensitive information considering the background check and the need for government level clearance. How do you feel that your internship was impacted by the pandemic considering you completed it remotely.
Hi Daniel, I'm really surprised on what you got to do at your internship! It seems like a very interesting look into how governmental institutions run from the inside. What kind of measures does the DHS take to ensure that their members aren't misappropriating funds? Since I'm a CCJS major, I wonder, what protocols are in place to spot and discourage embezzlement or fraud?
Hi Daniel,
I was drawn to your poster because it seemed different from many of the others, and the Department of Homeland Security seems really interesting. It seemed that you had some pretty substantial responsibilities, which is great. I learned that you worked mostly with financial services and policy. How were you able to get this internship?