Women's Basketball | 8/1/2018 5:14:00 PM

By Jerome Boettcher | George Mason Athletics

FAIRFAX, Va. – After Sarah Kaminski graduates from college, she would love to work with a federal agency. 

This summer, she got a taste of what that would be like – at the highest level.  

Kaminski, a rising junior guard on the George Mason women's basketball team, spent the last 10 weeks as an intern for the State Department in Washington, D.C. She worked in the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). 

"It has kind of been my dream to be in the midst of everything, to be there in the federal government," Kaminski said recently. "It is my first internship ever so I am learning a lot. My office is so nice. They've taught me more than I possibly could have learned in a textbook. It has been great. This one has been fantastic."

A criminology major, she received a firsthand look at the U.S. diplomatic efforts in preventing anti-corruption globally. According to its website, the INL promotes "security through justice" by helping countries with their police, courts and correction systems. As a result of this outreach, the bureau hopes to reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs that enters the United States.

"They help provide assistance and programs to these countries to reform their justice sectors, to make sure they are democratic and that we are spreading democracy," she said. "They help develop a lot of anti-corruption programs abroad and they help craft rule of law programs to help strengthen rule of law in other countries. As a whole, they are trying to strengthen to democratic values and a transparent criminal justice system."

Kaminski worked primarily with the bureau's Europe and Asia region and reported to a program officer. Her responsibilities included attending academic think-tank panels and summarizing findings for her supervisors. She provided daily summaries of developments in a particular country, sat in on international meetings and reviewed numerous documents.

She also escorted ambassadors from foreign countries around the bureau and had the opportunity to meet high-ranking foreign dignitaries and officials. 

"I got to learn about countries that I never knew even existed," said Kaminski, who rode the Metro into her internship each day. "It is always good to increase your knowledge. In class, you study the concepts and theories of how things work. I've learned how things actually work in real life and the logistical part of how the federal government works and state department works in cooperating with other countries.

"It is one thing to learn about it in the classroom and on TV, but it is another just to be in there. It is pretty cool to actually step in the building."

Kaminski, who hails from Plymouth, Minn., said Mason has "definitely opened avenues." With the proximity to D.C., the FBI in Quantico, Va., and the CIA in Langley, Va., Mason offers its students bountiful chances to gain hands-on experience in their prospective fields, especially in politics or criminology. 

"I think that is one of the benefits that the academic experience at Mason offers – that opportunity for internships and not just your ordinary internships," women's basketball head coach Nyla Milleson said. "The experience she gained was invaluable. There is no substitute for that kind of experience."

Her internship began toward the end of May and carried into the final week of July. While most students have their summers available to complete an internship, Kaminski had to juggle the athletic demands of being a student-athlete as well.

The women's basketball team works out almost daily during June and July. In order to handle the full-time internship – working nearly 40 hours a week – and her basketball responsibilities, she shifted her schedule around. She lifted weights at 6 a.m. She worked out on her own or with assistant coach Kaci Bailey. She went into the internship later on Fridays so she could work out with the rest of the team at least once a week.

"For her to be able to balance a full-time internship and still get workouts in, do what she had to do, is a true testament to her and the type of student-athlete she is," Milleson said. "She certainly embodies that. She is kind of the epitome of what a student-athlete is all about."

Kaminski arrived to Mason with quite the academic track record to go along with being named a three-time all-state selection in basketball at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. She was an academic all-state honoree in volleyball, basketball and softball, a National Merit Commended Scholar and an AP Scholar with Honor. 

She has carried on her academic excellence in college with a perfect 4.0 GPA entering her junior year. Set to graduate in May 2020 with a degree in criminology, law and society, she also is pursuing a double minor in French and Spanish. She has made the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll three times and was named a George Mason Provost Scholar Athlete this past winter. 

"It's always been No. 1 for me, even if basketball doesn't work out for me," said Kaminski, who has started 57 games the last two years. "Academics is where my job and my future lie. I really like it. I like what I have been learning in criminology, French and Spanish classes. It's kind of nice to get to go from practice, all basketball, to something else you are passionate about also."

For Kaminski, her passion is to pursue a career working with federal government. Whether that is as a federal employee, with a non-government organization, in the private sector or as a contractor, she isn't sure yet. 

But she knows she wants to make an impact at the national level.

"I'm just dipping my toe in the water right now. There are so many other agencies out there," she said. "I think it has always appealed to me because at (the federal) level there is a bigger reach. I enjoy most of the subject matter that the federal government attains to. I've always enjoyed learning about crime and the justice system. I just like the fact the federal government has a bigger reach, bigger budget, more they can do as far as foreign governments. There are so many more tools and can collaborate with more people. I really like the large-scale impact of it all."