On May 7, Simmons hosted a celebration for student participants in the Barbara Lee Fellowship, an internship program that pairs Simmons students with female-identifying senators and representatives at the Massachusetts State House. Attendees included current Fellows, as well as Representatives Priscila Sousa and Lindsay Sabadosa, and Senator Becca Rausch, and internship supervisors Legislative Aides Tim Askew and Chris Kalafatidis; District Director in the Office of Senator Rausch, Aidan Doherty; and District Director in the Office of Representative Brandy Fluker-Reid Mikayla Le Smith ’24.
The event began with remarks from Simmons University President Lynn Wooten.
“The Barbara Lee Fellowship embodies so much of Simmons’ mission, vision, and values,” said President Wooten, noting that Barbara Lee ’67, founder of the Barbara Lee Foundation (in operation from 1988–2024, committed to advancing women’s equality and representation in American politics and contemporary art) established the fellowship for Simmons students in 2004. “For the past 21 years, this Fellowship has played a vital role in helping to encourage and support Simmons students who are interested in pursuing careers in politics and public service.” Though the Foundation closed in 2024, the Fellowship program continues to provide paid internship opportunities in the Massachusetts government.
“These students have showcased extraordinary passion, leadership, and commitment,” Wooten said. “The world needs future political leaders and public servants like this distinguished group, and I cannot wait to see all they will do and accomplish next.”
Eli Ratner, Assistant Director of Advising in the Division of Student Engagement, Success and Diversity, reflected on his first year overseeing the Fellowship program, including bi-weekly check-in meetings with the students, an opportunity to discuss challenges they faced.
“The work that Barbara Lee Fellows do is not easy, and multiple times during the semester, students would come to the check-ins with challenges, and the group would proceed to share advice and work through them together,” Ratner said. “As the semester went on, I saw so much growth from the fellows. Many of them expressed later in the semester how proud they were that they had overcome a challenge or made meaningful improvements in their skills.”
Ratner highlighted the responsibility that Fellows took on in their various roles. “The students carried out intensive research, connected with constituents, attended sessions and briefings, and even participated in the legislation passage process. I was deeply impressed by how much the students really were able to get involved, get their hands dirty, and gain a strong understanding of what working in state politics is really like.”
Reflections from Barbara Lee Fellows
Bella Santos ’25 (Political Science, Arts Administration, Public Policy), shared her experience as an intern for Representative Lindsay Sabadosa.
“Creating written testimony challenged me to digest a topic I didn’t know anything about and create a compelling argument for it in a short amount of time,” said Santos, noting that the time limit forced her to resist her tendency to overthink a project. In addition to learning about probate court and decoding Massachusetts law, she also learned more about Representative Sabadosa’s district.
“I’ve learned a lot about constituents in Massachusetts, and it’s made me more passionate about the state,” said Santos. “Humility is key to working in State government. You’ll never know everything, so I had to leave my ego at the door and learn to embrace feedback.” Santos found herself inspired by the people of Massachusetts, and would like to be a state representative in the future, to work in the State House and “help communities be the best they can be.”
Helena Saldivar-Mieres ’25, who received the 2025 Student Voting Honor Roll by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, worked in the office of Representative Higgins of Leominster, where she learned about emergency shelter and immigration issues. “It was a really amazing time to be in the State House, at the beginning of a new legislative session and the beginning of the budget process,” she said.
Saldivar-Mieres also witnessed how changes at the federal level impacted the work of State Representatives. Given the changes taking place within the current presidential administration, she observed people in high positions express uncertainty about the outcomes. “It humanized them for me … and it showed a lot of resilience of people in the State House,” she noted. “We need good people in government — not good politicians or good businessmen, but good, empathetic people.”
Spring 2025 Fellows
- Bella Santos ’25
- Meagan Ching ’26
- Emma Soule ’26
- Abby Ferrone ’25
- Kate Petrosso ’26
- Jasmine Shul Rosas ’26
- Sophie Chin ’26
- Jaclyn Geiger ’26
- Anna Gagliastro ’26
- Helena Saldivar-Mieres ’25
- Allyson Hyde ’27
- Mariana Isabel Rodríguez Rivera ’25
Applications for the Spring 2026 Barbara Lee Fellowship will open in Fall 2025.