Faces Profile : Lucas Hamilton

By Kayla Matzke

Lucas Hamilton spent the summer in Washington, D.C., working for Senator Max Baucus. A senior in print journalism from Havre, Mont., Hamilton interned with the Senate Finance Committee as a press associate.

Hamilton's day-to-day work involved monitoring the press during committee hearings, collecting press clips, and writing press releases.

Hamilton received investigative reports of agencies and programs from the Government Accountability Office, and he wrote press releases based on those reports.

“It was a great experience,” he said.

Hamilton heard about the opportunity from a friend who interned with the Committee last fall.

While working on press releases, Hamilton was exposed to a world completely opposite from what the J-School teaches. “You get to make up quotes,” he said.

Even so, Hamilton said he doesn’t want to pursue public relations in the future. He hopes to volunteer and serve in the Peace Corps after college before jumping into the world of journalism.

Hamilton said the experience seasoned him to a variety of political issues.

“I learned a lot about how D.C. reporters operate,” he said.