At all of 19, Carson Bowlin has corresponded with governors on behalf of the White House. He has prepared for a queen’s visit. He’s seen the president cry.
“And I was the White House Easter Bunny,” the Edmonds man said. “I volunteered for that, I fit in the costume.”
No wonder his father, Roger Bowlin, says his son’s photographs will someday make a “wall of wow.”
A 2006 graduate of King’s High School, a private school in Shoreline, Carson Bowlin recently completed a five-month White House internship. From January until mid-May, he was the youngest of about 90 interns in the semester-long program.
Well into his term, Bowlin got a glimpse of how lucky he’d been to land the position. Another White House intern he knew worked in an office involved in choosing the next group. “They had about 1,500 applications for 90 spots,” he said.
After what Bowlin calls his “gap year,” he’ll start at Gonzaga University in Spokane this fall. His 17-year-old brother, Austin, graduated from King’s last week and also will be at Gonzaga.
White House interns are unpaid. Housing is available, but interns cover their own living and transportation costs. What they gain is a unique experience and an up-close view of power and government.
“I worked for the president, but under Karl Rove,” said Bowlin. He was placed in the White House intergovernmental affairs office, one of about two dozen areas where interns work. Rove, the high-profile senior adviser to President Bush, is also deputy White House chief of staff for strategic planning.
Bowlin can’t claim he rubbed shoulders with Bush, but he did meet the president on a tragic day. The official White House photo of the interns, with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, was taken in the East Room April 16, the day a gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Tech.
That morning, Bowlin said Bush juggled making a statement to the nation with comforting an intern who’d lost a sorority sister in the rampage. “He burst into tears, and he kissed her on the forehead,” Bowlin said of the president. “We don’t often see his compassion, but I’ve seen it first-hand.”
Beyond donning a bunny suit to entertain kids at the annual Easter egg roll on the South Lawn April 9, Bowlin said the visit of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is an outstanding memory. Interns helped run the event that brought about 7,000 onlookers to witness royalty.
Bowlin’s list of Washington, D.C., celebrity sightings is impressive, from Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and actor Sean Penn, who was in town for a peace demonstration.
His day-to-day job had him writing letters to governors and local officials. The hottest issue? “Definitely immigration, it’s on everyone’s mind,” he said.
Bowlin’s political involvement helped him gain entry to the White House. In 2006, he worked on Republican Mike McGavick’s campaign for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
While McGavick lost the race, Bowlin gained by meeting people active in GOP politics. One woman who helped the McGavick camp had a daughter who’d been a White House intern.
The selection process involved essay writing and an extensive background check.
Asked if he’d ever like to be president, Bowlin didn’t say yes – and he didn’t say no. Education comes first. He’ll major in business and perhaps minor in political science. He’s already a businessman, running his own tree-trimming company and hiring friends this summer.
Wherever life takes him, he’ll always have the White House. “I’ve always loved public policy, and I’m a huge history buff,” he said.
I had to ask about Monica Lewinsky, the infamous intern of Bill Clinton’s White House.
“The first day on the job, they took us to the press briefing room. They told us all the rules about conduct and e-mails.
“There were always jokes,” he said. “They didn’t want another Monica.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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