Yale’s Millstone Fellowship: Empowering the Next Generation of Public Servants
The smell of the Oval Office imprinted on Austan Goolsbee.
In a tense meeting of advisers with President Barack Obama during the 2008 financial crisis, Goolsbee, Yale Class of ’91, presented an argument that was in the distinct minority. He recalls some raised voices in response but his mind wandered a little during the harangues.
“I look over my shoulder and there on the wall is the original Emancipation Proclamation,” Goolsbee said. “I’m in the Oval Office with the first Black president, who I have spent the last three years working to help get here. And I’m like, ‘Whoa.’”
And in that way memories and odors can link together with deep immediacy, Goolsbee remembers that day like he just sniffed it.
“The smell of the Oval Office is something I’ll never forget,” he said. “It’s both amazing and emotionally charged.”
Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors for Obama, delivered this and other stories of his public service to a group of new and former students accepted for the Millstone Fellowship in Public Service in Yale College, offered through the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS).
“Your backgrounds are impressive, and there’s no higher calling than public service,” Goolsbee told the fellows, adding that the American tradition also values people who serve their country and then return to their previous careers. “Public service doesn’t just happen in government. You can maintain an interest in public service while working in the private sector.”
Yale College alumni Jennifer Millstone ’00 and David Millstone ’99 funded this fellowship to support undergraduates’ summer internships in public service by providing a stipend that can help offset the costs of housing, transportation, and other expenses.
“The Millstone Fellowship allows for me to engage in public service without having to worry if an internship is paid or unpaid,” said August Rios, ’26. “I could just apply to things that fit my area of focus.”
Rios will work this summer as an intern for the U.S. Congressional Joint Economic Committee, focusing on housing.
“I think public service is unparalleled in the sense that in no other career are you able to achieve longstanding change while also working directly with individuals who are impacted by that change,” he said.
Araya Miller, ’26, aims to give back to marginalized communities and improve the lives of people in Connecticut, the state in which she was raised.
“It’s great to know that we can do this kind of work with the support of Yale and a fellowship like this,” Miller said. “We all have voices. And we can use those voices to propel change.”
Led by ISPS faculty fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science Christina Kinane, the fellowship not only provides financial support but organizes speaker events and roundtables for fellows to learn from the experiences of Yale alumni serving throughout government. The program offers students the chance to gain practical experience, connect with peers, and build professional networks as they embark on their careers.
“What’s great about this program is the value it offers beyond the internship,” said Kaj Litch, ’26, who will be working this summer on cybersecurity issues for the Department of the Army. “I’m excited to meet people who have come before me.”
Kyle Thomas Ramos, ’26, plans to work this summer for the U.S. Department of Justice. An ISPS Dahl scholar and a research assistant for Kinane, Ramos has cultivated an interest in inter-branch politics of the federal bureaucracy.
“Historically, the bureaucracy is filled with a lot of highly skilled individuals who really care about government and the work they do,” Ramos said, adding his appreciation for the Millstone Fellowship and Professor Kinane’s mentorship. “She always lets us guide the conversation.”
ISPS Director Alan Gerber, Sterling Professor of Political Science, praised Kinane’s leadership as the fellowship program’s founding faculty director.
“Professor Kinane has established an amazing track record and launched the program in a great direction through her talent, energy, and dedication to students doing critical work,” Gerber said. “Her expertise studying the federal bureaucracy is beautifully aligned with this work, and we are extraordinary lucky to have someone like her leading it.”
Quinn Luong, ’26, will spend his summer as a press-digital intern at the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, aiming to elevate his career in public service with legislative and policymaking, and digital media and traditional press experience.
While he worked last summer as a constituent services intern for Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Penn., and as a research assistant for Connecticut Superior Court Judge Douglas Lavine, Luong commitment to public service began long before attending college..
“I grew up in my mother’s nail salon, where many immigrants worked, and helped out there since I was little,” he said. “It’s there where I listened to customers’ needs, solved disputes, and cared for the immigrant community that raised me. Looking back, I would say that this prepared me well for a career in public service.”
Meet this year’s class of Millstone fellows:
Sophia Ai
College: Branford
Major: Political Science
Millstone Internship: California Superior Court Judge
Experience: Sophia has worked for U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and for the U.S. State Department’s Virtual Student Federal Service. She works with the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association to help individuals with disabilities and their families.
Activities: Sophia has served as co-president of the Chinese American Students Association of Yale and currently serves as events coordinator for the Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee.
Jake Bernstein
College: Branford
Major: History
Millstone Internship: Pending
Experience: Jake worked as an intern and campaign writer for former N.C. state Rep. Caleb Rudow, an intern for an Ashville-based family law firm, and a teacher at Chabad Hebrew School of Asheville.
Activities: Jake leads projects in support of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities through Yale’s Undergraduate Legal Aid Association and plays cello with Davenport Pops Orchestra.
Esha Garg
College: Grace Hopper
Major: Ethics, Politics & Economics and Computer Science
Millstone Internship: Congressional Office
Experience: Esha has worked as a summer business analyst for McKinsey & Company and as a business analyst and solution architect intern for the Texas Education Agency throw Grow Associates. She has also served as an intern for the Houston City Council.
Activities: Esha is the Yale College Council student body vice president, helping to represent 7,000 students and lead the 150-member organization. She is a national ambassador for Girl Scouts of America and the founder and director of Diverse Book Club, an organization that advocates for increased representation and diversity in education and media.
Alex Greene
College: Branford
Major: Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Millstone Internship: Federal Government
Experience: Alex served as a research intern at the American Enterprise Institute, where he contributed to the Critical Threats Project by analyzing geopolitical developments and drafting briefs. He also worked as an editorial intern for the Yale Law Journal, supporting the publication process and proofreading legal scholarship.
Activities: Alex is the current president of the Peace and Dialogue Leadership Initiative (PDLI), a program that fosters collaboration between civilian and military students from Yale and West Point. He previously served as president of the Yale Undergraduate Moot Court Team, which competes in regional and national tournaments focused on constitutional law.
Owen Hacker Hathaway
College: Silliman
Major: History
Millstone Internship: U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Experience: Owen is a student fellow with the National Institute of Military Justice, a non-governmental organization aimed at promoting the fair administration of law in the armed forces, through which he is research and planning to attend the military tribunal proceedings in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He is an editorial intern for the Yale Law Journal and has served as an intern for the Dewy Square Group consulting company and as a research assistant for Yale Law School professor John Witt.
Activities: Owen is a member of Yale’s Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at the Jackson School of Global Affairs. He is captain of the Yale men’s club Ultimate Frisbee team and works at the Silliman Acorn as a barista.
Tina Huang
College: Pierson
Major: English
Millstone Internship: New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment
Experience: Tina works as a remote legal intern for a law firm focused on antitrust litigation. She has also interned for the nonprofit Immigration Social Services based in Manhattan’s Chinatown and has worked as a director’s assistant for a film production company in Los Angeles.
Activities: Tina serves as an Arts Coordinator for the Yale College Council, is a cultural liaison for the Asian American Students Alliance, and is the director of graphic design for the Yale Student Film Festival.
Bilal Kharrat
College: Pierson
Major: Global Affairs and History
Millstone Internship: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Experience: Bilal serves as research manager for the Center for Policing Equity’s work at Yale, a research assistant for Yale Law School professor James Forman Jr., and a recruitment coordinator for Yale’s Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Activities: Bilal is a fellow with the Peace Dialogue Leadership Initiative, where he studies U.S. foreign policy history and its contemporary applications in the Levant, with a focus on the political and humanitarian dimensions of the Palestinian experience. He is also vice president of Yale’s Middle Eastern and North African Student Association, co-head of the Yale Policy Institute’s Equal Justice Center, and the online editor-in-chief of the Yale Human Rights Journal.
Macy Lerner
College: Ben Franklin
Major: History (Certificate in Spanish)
Millstone Internship: Office of the Federal Public Defender, District of Connecticut
Experience: Macy serves as a school-year intern with the federal public defenders in New Haven. In prior summers, they have interned with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office and with Women Against Mass Incarceration. They have also worked with Radical Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education and Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven.
Activities: Macy serves as co-president of the New Haven Urban Debate League, a project leader for the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association, and a senior editor for the Yale Historical Review. They are also a research assistant for Anne Eller, Associate Professor of History.
Kaj Litch
College: Grace Hopper
Major: Global Affairs with an Intensive Certificate in Human Rights
Millstone Internship: U.S. Department of the Army Office of the Principal Cyber Advisor
Experience: Kaj has worked as an intern for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; a Yale Law School Liman Summer Fellow intern for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; and a research consultant for The Computational Democracy Project, a digital platform to enable large-scale participatory democracy.
Activities: Kaj leads The Litch Brothers, an internationally touring four-piece bluegrass band. He is also the former business manager and a playing member of Tangled up in Blue, Yale’s folk music ensemble, a fellow in the Mass Atrocities in the Digital Era (MADE) program, and a leader of Yale’s First-Year Outdoor Orientation Trips (FOOT).
Rena Liu
College: Branford
Major: Sociology and Economics
Millstone Internship: Office of the Attorney General for Washington, D.C., Antitrust Section
Experience: Rena has interned for Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the City of Knoxville’s Department of Housing. She has worked as a research assistant in Yale’s History Department and the Yale School of Management, studying regulation and entrepreneurship in Europe.
Activities: Rena writes about competition in the debit card market with the Thurman Arnold Project, volunteers as an income tax preparer at the New Haven Free Public Library, and has served as a writing tutor for Yale’s Directed Studies program.
Quinn Luong
College: Jonathan Edwards
Major: Political Science and Advanced Language Certificate in Spanish
Millstone Internship: U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee
Experience: Quinn serves as a research assistant for the Yale Law School Prison Letters Project, as research assistant for Yale Law School Professor Douglas NeJaime, and as a Spanish translator for Yale Law School’s Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization and HAVEN Free Clinic. He has worked as a constituent services intern for Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Penn., and as a research assistant for Connecticut Superior Court Judge Douglas Lavine.
Activities: Quinn is president and treasurer for Yale Students Demand Action, an organization focused on addressing gun violence. He is the founder and president of the Yale Queer Student Alliance and is an elections and legislative fellow with Yale College Democrats.
Araya Miller
College: Ben Franklin
Major: Political Science
Millstone Internship: Office of the Federal Public Defender, District of Connecticut and Office of U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Experience: Araya works researching data on juvenile incarceration rates, policies and programming in New Haven as a fellow for Next Level Empowerment Program and as a peer liaison for the Afro-American Cultural Center and has led programs for Ivy Camps USA in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In addition, she worked as a Limon fellow for the Legal Action Center in New York and worked as a judicial research assistant for ISPS.
Activities: Araya is president of the Yale Black Pre-Law Association and has served as a senator for the Yale College Council, as the political action chair for the Black Students Alliance at Yale, and as an assistant tournament director for the Yale Debate Association.
Prince Osaji
College: Grace Hopper
Major: Political Science and History
Millstone Internship: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Experience: Prince has worked as a Paragon research fellow and project lead to assess data risk for California’s Santa Clara County, as a research consultant and team lead on a research project with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and as a technology policy fellow for the Alliance for Citizen Engagement. He is also working as a Digital and Cyberspace intern for the Council on Foreign Relations, as a research contributor for the Tearline Program of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and as a Google public policy fellow.
Activities: Prince is the co-founder and president emeritus of the Yale Foreign Policy Initiative, a student organization that coordinates research projects with representatives from think tanks and government agencies. He is also the external president of the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association and the treasurer of the Yale Nigerian Students Association.
Kyle Thomas Ramos
College: Pauli Murray
Major: Political Science
Millstone Internship: U.S. Department of Justice
Experience: Kyle Thomas has worked as an intern for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, an education policy intern for the American Enterprise Institute, an ISPS Dahl research scholar, a research assistant for ISPS faculty fellow Christina Kinane, a teaching assistant for the Yale Directed Studies Program, an undergraduate learning assistant for Yale’s Statistics and Data Science Department, and a head tour guide for the Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Activities: Kyle Thomas is a senator and academic policy director of the Yale College Council and soloist and alumni coordinator for the Yale Glee Club.
August Rios
College: Timothy Dwight
Major: Sociology
Millstone Internship: U.S. Congressional Joint Economic Committee
Experience: August is a volunteer research assistant with the Yale School of Public Health’s Housing and Health Equity Lab. He is co-director of the Urban Fellows program at the Dwight Hall Center for Public Service and Social Justice and a real estate salesperson for Neighborhood Housing Services and a research assistant for ISPS.
Activities: August is a volunteer project coordinator and data collection intern for the United Way of Connecticut’s Housing Unit, an audit tester for the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, and he has volunteered for the City of New Haven Fair Rent Commission and Legal Services NYC’s Right to Counsel Eviction Unit.