With the official coming of summer means the march of interns on Capitol Hill.

In the past, this has meant various certainties — sexy short skirts, a naive manner and potential scandal. Think Jessica Cutler, an ex-intern for Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), who, after going to work for Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), was fired for blogging about her sexual escapades around Capitol Hill and beyond. Or think about the three twentysomething interns, who showed up at the Capital Grille and landed several congressmen into the gossip pages of Vanity Fair.

Now say hello to the new breed of Capitol Hill intern. She’s smart, savvy — and forewarned.

With pre-Hill boot camps cropping up in droves, interns are learning how to talk to their superiors, what to wear and how to send mature and appropriate e-mails.

 While some of the internship programs themselves are not new, such as programs offered through American University, the College of William & Mary  and the University of California at Berkeley, schools are stepping up their boot camps with practical information to make sure the intern is confident and prepared when he or she steps foot on Capitol Hill.

At Berkeley’s pre-Hill camp, for example,  students must begin resume building, networking and working on their interviewing skills in January, the spring semester before their summer internship.

The pre-Hill program at Miami University of Ohio began in 1998 as a class trip. Later it expanded into a three-week long endeavor in which students are paraded around town to meet and listen to some of Washington’s well-known faces. In recent years, the focus of the program has shifted to teaching them about attire, proper attitude and behavior.

Meghan Comey, a program coordinator at William & Mary, notes an increase in focus on behavior because they’ve decided to add an "intern etiquette" component to the Washington program next semester.

As of this summer, Comey said, proper conduct and dress is brought up on a case by case basis depending on planned activities for the program (this, after an intern came on a Pentagon tour in flip flops last year). She added that William & Mary alums who come to speak emphasize proper behavior on Capitol Hill.

Sophia Contreras, a program director for the University of California at Berkley, said they've also been focusing on conduct. Contreras said,  "We teach a student run course and part of focus is professionalism. We do sensitivity training with Title seven and Title nine officers who talk about proper behavior in the office."

And Donna Chapman, assistant dean at American University, said focus on proper behavior has always been a part of the program. The dean even meets with students at the program's start to tell interns horror stories and mistakes past interns made.

Some programs, such as Dartmouth College’s five-day Civic Skills boot camp held recently in a conference room at the Virginian Suites in Rosslyn, Va., offer material so specific that at times the information seems absurdly obvious. This was Dartmouth’s third annual boot camp, and it keeps evolving according to feedback from intern supervisors. The program began in the fall of 2004.

Still, for interns like Kristen Lingley, 21, an intern in the office of Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) who participated in a workshop, not everything was apparent.
“It made me realize the mistakes I made in applying for my internship [and the importance of] being more professional,” she said, sounding confessional in nature.
“In crafting e-mails, sometimes I used a greater number of e-mails to ask many questions that I could have used one, and I tended to use the phone more than I should have.”

Now in her internship she finds the skills she learned in her program are paying off.

“Civic Skills cut down half the time I needed for training. When I have to edit press releases it doesn’t take me very long because I have had all these run-throughs [in the program],” Lingley said.

She insists she doesn’t mind the grunt work she is taking on for the summer, saying, “With that grunt work I get exposure to writing constituent letters, even reviewing them, which is a good learning experience.”

Programs like Civic Skills are widespread among U.S. colleges. Universities such as Boston University, University of California-Santa Barbara and the College of William & Mary all have Washington summer programs that prepare students for working and living in D.C. American University’s Washington Semester expanded from solely political internships to ones in business, media and economics.

Washington Semester’s director of internships, Amy Morrill Bijeau, said students work at their internships two days a week and for the remainder attend a seminar where they receive help with r�sum�-building, interview skills and developing a good, firm handshake.

Bijeau said she sees the difference that programs like American University’s makes in developing poised, informed and professional Hill interns.

“They often come in a little shaky or stressed, and we coach them along the way,” Bijeau said. “It’s often transformative to see students realize they can make a professional mark.”

Lingley, who received training in public speaking and communication, noted, “Communication is key.”

When faced with meeting her boss, Michaud, Lingley says that she felt at ease and natural because of the Civic Skills exercises. They include daily public-speaking presentations and complicated assignments such as a group project in which they had to figure out how each of their internships was connected monetarily, politically and socially.

Programs like these not only prepare students for Washington life but are also opportunities to meet big Washington names.

“We often have the big names, including Supreme Court justices, senators, representatives, but also CEOs, attorneys, and folks in non-profits,” Bijeau said. “Recently Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke, we’ve had Ted Kennedy, [and] folks from IMF and the World Bank often come in.”

Some programs, like Miami University’s, combine a classroom component with a placed internship — giving students the chance to rub shoulders with the D.C. elite before jumping into their own jobs. Examples include Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and CBS anchor Bob Schieffer. During the trip to CBS News studios, the memorable moment of the day occurred when Condoleezza Rice stopped by to say hello.

Before students even arrive in D.C., Chad Pergram, Inside Washington program director for Miami University and Capitol News Connection correspondent, has former program participants come in and model appropriate attire, gives students mock quizzes on current events and political names, and provides tips on how to succeed as an intern.

“I expect people to perform at the same level as their professional peers,” Pergram said. “You can’t act like an intern. You have to act like a pro.”

His advice to interns? “Be prepared.”

It’s not all about work, though; it’s also about living in Washington. Metro maps and descriptions of D.C. neighborhoods are also handed out to students so that they have an opportunity to get a lay of the land before arrival.

After arriving in D.C., University of Miami students spend three weeks meeting and visiting various lawmakers, media types and think tanks. It is in these three weeks that students are really exposed to Washington, and this is perhaps, the best preparation of all.

Callie Regas, 21, who came to D.C. through Miami’s program and is interning for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), found that the preparation she received made her more comfortable and more self-confident before starting her job.

“It’s all about first impressions,” Regas said, recalling how intimidated she felt at the thought of meeting important people in D.C. “Having had preparation and being here on a program helps with that.”

Lingley, an English major and history minor who will be a senior this fall, continues to make the most of her time on the Hill. As Michaud’s only full-time intern, her passion is writing. She has opportunities to make her mark in the office by researching issues and communicating with constituents.

To Lingley, even answering phones is important. She emphasized the importance of phone etiquette, especially since she is often the first person constituents encounter when calling the office. She has even learned to take the high road with unpleasant callers.

“Too often interns get defensive and want to lash back, but it’s not worth it,” Lingley said.

But for Hill interns it’s not all about sorting mail and answering phones. Interns are often asked to give Capitol tours, something Lingley has not yet done. However, it is something the self-described history buff is looking forward to.

And thankfully, like most interns, she is sufficiently in awe of her boss.

“He seems amazing,” she said. “To think he was a mill worker and now he’s on Capitol Hill representing half the state of Maine is just incredible to me.”