Several University students have had federal internship offers rescinded, leaving them scrambling last-minute to determine summer plans. This is a result of the hiring freeze of federal civilian employees which President Donald Trump ordered in a presidential memorandum Jan. 20. Another memorandum April 17 extended the freeze through July 15.
Until July 15, no presently vacant federal civilian positions may be filled, and no new positions may be created. Because summer federal government interns are not currently employed, and some had received offers during the previous administration, some internship positions were affected.
According to a statement to The Cavalier Daily from Nicole Hall, senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, Charlottesville’s relative proximity to Washington makes federal internships a common path taken by University students. With many students hailing from Northern Virginia and Washington, family federal government connections also contribute to the trend.
“We regularly see students intern with numerous federal agencies including the Department of Energy, State Department, Department of Justice, the Office of Personnel Management, Health and Human Services, the Smithsonian and internships on [Capitol] Hill,” Hall said.
Hall stepped into the role of senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students March 24. She started at the University in 2023 as associate vice president for career and professional development.
In addition to students interning directly with the federal government, many University students work at federal contractors such as Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm, and Leidos — an innovation company that provides technology and engineering solutions in national security and health — according to Hall. While Trump’s order does not directly affect federal contractors, trickle down effects may alter the status of these positions.
Third-year Batten student Lacey Wortzel planned to intern for the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington this summer. She received an offer last summer, while former President Joe Biden was still in office and his administration in-charge of federal hiring. Wortzel has already put down a deposit to live in the city during the program.
Wortzel received notification via email that her internship offer had been rescinded April 17. According to Wortzel, this came as a surprise as she had received assurance multiple times from her employer that her internship was not at risk of being canceled.
“They had sent me at least three emails and called me unprompted … in the time since November to basically be like, ‘Hey, I know that there's a lot going on in the government. Don't worry. The Department of Defense is exempted from the hiring freeze. Your job isn’t in jeopardy,’” Wortzel said. “And then on Thursday, they were like, ‘Oh, actually, never mind.’”
The hiring freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies, with a few exceptions outlined in the April 17 memorandum — including the hiring of military personnel of the Armed Forces, as well as immigration enforcement, national security or public safety positions. The order also does not apply to the Executive Office of the President. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management has the ability to grant exemptions from the freeze “where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.”
“In carrying out this memorandum, the heads of agencies shall seek efficient use of existing personnel and funds to improve public services and the delivery of those services,” the memorandum reads. “Accordingly, this memorandum does not prohibit making reallocations or reassignments to meet the highest priority needs, maintain essential services and protect national security, homeland security, and public safety.”
The email notification told Wortzel that they were unable to continue with the onboarding process. It also said that they were “pleased to inform” her that she “may be eligible to participate in the 2026 summer internship,” but did not specify whether she would receive priority.
The last-minute notification has left Wortzel scrambling for work this summer, especially given that she has already put down a deposit to live in Washington.
“It's very late in the semester to change what I'm doing. In the past week, I’ve submitted a million applications, but obviously nothing has gotten back to me yet,” Wortzel said. “It's the kind of thing where if they had canceled it earlier, it also would have sucked, but I would have had more time to pivot.”
While Wortzel was notified very late, some students received a much more immediate notice about their status. Second-year Commerce student Rani Bhura received notification of the cancellation of her internship via email in January, a few days after she had initially received the offer Jan. 13 — before Trump took office. She planned to work for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as a risk management intern in Catonsville, Md.
“It was a pretty big shock to me. I just didn't expect it. I wouldn't have thought [the hiring freeze] would affect me,” Bhura said. “At first it was very shocking, but I figured out other plans.”
Bhura decided to not pursue another internship, and to instead study abroad at the London School of Economics.
The email Bhura received thanked her for her interest, and informed her that they were no longer hiring for the role.
“This is due to the Federal Civilian Hiring Freeze dated January 20, 2025, which is effective immediately. We wish you success in your future employment endeavors,” the email reads.
Second-year Commerce student Sam Schultz also planned to work for the FDIC this summer. He began the application process for their bank audit internship program in fall 2024. After starting interviews in early January but before having the chance to receive an offer, he received an email Jan. 22 that notified him of the cancellation of the program. The cancellation was directly attributed to the hiring freeze.
“I regret to inform you we are unable to move forward with our internship program while the federal government is under a civilian hiring freeze …Thank you so much for expressing any interest in the FDIC and our internship program. Please stay in touch,” the email read, according to Schultz.
“Once I got that [email], I was kind of on the jump again to go figure out what I was doing for the summer… It definitely did add on to the stress,” Schultz said. “I think I would have felt better about it if they said ‘Sorry, we're going with other candidates,’ or something like that.”
After last-minute networking with people from his hometown of Pittsburgh, Schultz accepted an offer for an internship with a venture capital firm specializing in software April 18.
“It was a pretty hard process, because I wasn't too familiar with what [the company] did, but I kind of had to be,” Schultz said. “Because I needed an internship this summer.
For students who have been affected with last minute changes, Hall said that the Career Center has been working with students in their process of changing plans after getting offers rescinded or their intern programs getting canceled.
“We’ve been working with students to pivot to other industry options in government (state and local especially), non-profits and private sector,” Hall said. “We also are working with students to think about skill development and networking to allow them to continue to explore these industries outside of an internship.”
Hall recommended in her statement that students who have lost federal internships look to other industries and disciplines to gain experience and new skills, including looking at micro-internships, or short-term internships which offer the ability to gain basic experience.
“We support students through skills development and technology training programs, and we share these as options,” Hall said. “Micro-internships and internships in other industries and disciplines are great ways to build experience.”
Hall also mentioned the importance of networking in finding internship opportunities, especially when needing to find work in a short amount of time.
“Our alumni working in these fields are more than happy to talk to students about these careers and what they know about their field,” Hall said.
Hall gave the example of creating these connections at events such as the Career Center’s Public Service and Government Day in Washington, which was hosted in March.
Wortzel interned in Washington last summer, so she has been utilizing the connections she made to help her find last-minute work opportunities.
“I reached out to a lot of the people I networked with last summer,” Wortzel said. “A lot of them have been super helpful and have been trying to put me in contact with people and help me figure something out.”
Wortzel also contacted a few University professors she has worked closely with in the past for ideas on who may still be hiring or advice about where to look that she has not already.
Bhura similarly utilized her connections with professors, as well as career counselors, to relieve the stress that came after the cancellation of her program.
“I talked to my accounting professor and the Career Center, and they helped me kind of calm down,” Bhura said.
In her statement, Hall also highlighted the importance of leveraging the Career Center’s resources if faced with a similar situation as Wortzel, Bhura and Schultz.
“Come talk to a career counselor — we can be a support system and help you outline a strategy as well as connect within the U.Va. network,” Hall said.
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