The WIP Class of 2021 includes five Maynooth University students and the Careers Service would like to congratulate them and wish them every success during their time on the Program.
- Rebecca Adeyemo
- Ciarán Beahan
- Callum Jones
- Jana Khalil
- Colin Mc Andrew
The Launch of the WIP Class of 2021, introducing all the successful participants took place on Thursday 3rd June 2021.
WIP Press Release 3rd June 2021
The prestigious Ireland-US leadership development program usually involves 30 third-level education students per year. Making the best of the circumstances, the Program has expanded to 108 and, for the first time, also includes students with caring responsibilities who would not usually travel and those studying part-time courses.
Since 1995, the Washington Ireland Program (WIP) has enabled over 750 young leaders across the island of Ireland to work in the likes of the US Congress and Senate while staying with an American host family in either Washington D.C. and New York City.
Previous students have interned in the offices of then Senators Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Prior to arrival at the White House, the Program has been applauded by President Joe Biden in 2016 as an example of the “special” relationship between Ireland and America in 2016 and praised by the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019.
The Program seeks students who demonstrate leadership potential, have a strong track record of service, and are committed to build a brighter future for the island of Ireland. Notable Program alums include the Tánaiste and former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD and prominent Stormont representatives including Claire Sugden MLA, Matthew O’Toole MLA, and Chris Lyttle MLA.
A range of business leaders, including Molly Muldoon, Senior Director at the global marketing agency Wunderman Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO of Wayflyer, Aidan Corbett, and Kieran O’Connor, Vice President of Operations at Options Technology, have also taken part in the Program.
The Class of 2021 will not travel state-side but will engage in a hybrid programme of work placements with prestigious international companies, learn from WIP’s renowned leadership development curriculum, and meet with senior global leaders in Dublin and Belfast before graduating in September. The diversity of the 2021 Class reflects the Program’s continued commitment to support and develop students from all backgrounds across Northern Ireland and Ireland.
This follows the success of the Program’s first-ever virtual programme held last year, where 30 students graduated without setting foot in the United States. Using Zoom, students were given the exclusive opportunity to engage with leading figures in American politics, including Jen O’Malley Dillon, President Joe Biden’s 2020 Campaign Manager, who is now Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House.
They also spoke with Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle, whose father is from Donegal, a member of the House Committee for Foreign Affairs and Adrian Jones, a leading Irish figure on Wall Street and Chairman of Goldman Sachs’ global equity business.
Recent appointments to the Board of the Washington Ireland Program, which oversee it’s work in Northern Ireland, Ireland and America, include the immediate Past President of the DC Bar, Susan Hoffman, as Chair, and leading women in American politics and former CEOs of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Amy Dacey and Jess O’Connell as Directors. Catherine May, Dublin-based General Counsel at Bank of America (Europe), has also joined the Program’s Board.
The full press release can be found here
Careers Service
http://www.maynoothuniveristy.ie/careers