U of I student finds direction in Washington D.C.

As soon as she saw the agenda for the Martin Institute's trip to Washington D.C. for May 2025, Zoë Lindner figured she would gain a lot of insight into her intended career path in politics or foreign relations.

After talking with a U of I alum working in the U.S. Department of Justice during the trip’s alumni dinner, however, she’s now taking a different direction.

Lindner was one of eight U of I students who joined two faculty members for five days in the nation’s capital. The trip, funded by the Victor and Ruth Skiles Endowment, was designed for students to have an opportunity to speak with former Vandals who work in areas the students are interested in.

Majoring in international studies and minoring in Spanish, Lindner grew up speaking several languages and has always been interested in global politics. Coming to U of I in 2024, she assumed those interests would lead to a career where she could use those skills.

After meeting several former Vandals working for high-profile employers, like U.S. Senators James Risch (Idaho) and Jacky Rosen (Nevada), the Democratic National Committee and the ONE Campaign, it was at a dinner with several U of I alumni that Lindner received some valuable, if unexpected, advice.

“I was talking to Sarah (Grigg) Knaub ’12, who is a legal administrative specialist at the U.S. Department of Justice,” Lindner said. “We were talking about the details of diplomatic work, what it’s really about, and I kind of realized it probably wasn’t for me.”

Knaub described her job as working with many different people from different walks of life and with different personalities. Lindner, a self-described introvert, figured she would have to force herself to become comfortable in those situations.

But because she was still interested in working in an international capacity, Lindner refocused on a path where she could do what she likes to do on an international platform – becoming a paralegal.

“Talking with Sarah inspired me to focus on what I like and what I’m good at,” Lindner said. “I like research – it’s so much fun for me. If I can focus on the research aspect of international business or law, I could still travel internationally and maybe even live in other countries. That really opened my eyes.”

Lindner, who came to U of I with 52 credits she obtained in high school in Yakima, Washington through the Dual Credit Program, is planning to finish her undergraduate degree while living abroad during the Fall 26 semester. She is also interested in obtaining certification that would aid her journey to becoming a paralegal.

While she continues to define what she would like her future to look like, Lindner is grateful for the experiences she had and the people she spoke to during the Washington D.C. trip.

“It was so fun to be close to my classmates and to get to experience all of the things while we were there,” she said. “But it also turned out that I got some great career advice. Going back there and talking to people who work there and finding out about interesting career paths that you didn’t even know about was amazing.”