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Lee University student finishes internships in nation’s capital

Michael DeForest, a senior at Lee University, was an intern at the White House during the fall of 2015 and then returned to the nation's capital last summer to intern at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Michael DeForest, a senior at Lee University, was an intern at the White House during the fall of 2015 and then returned to the nation's capital last summer to intern at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

By Barry Courter March 21, 2017 4 min read

Having just met Michael DeForest, it is unclear if his exuberant personality is caffeine-based or his normal demeanor.

But from the time he greets me inside the Conn Student Center at Lee University to the time we shake hands and part, the smile never leaves his face and he seems keen to share with anyone and everyone his experiences over the last two years in Washington, D.C.

A senior set to graduate in May with a degree in accounting, DeForest spent the fall of 2015 as a White House intern in the Office of Operation, which oversees finance, technology and logistics of keeping the 205-year-old building in working order.

To hear DeForest tell it, the interns and staff in the department are putting out fires at a superhuman pace every second of every day. It’s not that he is overselling his role as an office troubleshooter. It’s just that the office happens to be the White House, and the copiers and fax machines were breaking as dignitaries from China or the Vatican happened to be coming for dinner or a meeting.

It helps, too, that DeForest relates his experiences as if he is talking about climbing Mount Everest or going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.