In this 2017 story, we interviewed Kiah Duggins about her recently completed internship in the White House working on the staff for then-First Lady Michelle Obama. We’re repeating this story as a way to shine a light on the brilliance that was Kiah Duggins, whose young life ended at age 30 in the recent crash of American Airlines flight 5342 on the evening of Jan. 29, 2025.
After graduating that spring from Wichita State University, she went on to graduate from Harvard Law School where she served as president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. As an attorney, she was working with the Civil Rights Corps, challenging unconstitutional policing and money bail practices.
This story covers the four months Duggins spent in the White House. At the time, she ranked it as the experience of her lifetime. As a senior at WSU, Duggins spent August through December 2016 as an intern in Michelle Obama’s office. From her answers to our questions, you can tell it was an exciting time.
How did you get the internships? I basically just wanted to intern for Michelle Obama because I love her. So, I googled “How to Intern for Michelle Obama,” and the White House Internship Program came up. I applied for the summer internship and was rejected, so I tweaked my application and reapplied for the fall and was accepted.
The First Lady had 13 interns, but there were 150 interns in the White House.
Was it a paid or free internship and did you receive academic credit? It was an unpaid internship but it was funded through the [WSU] Honors College, the Political Science Dept. and the Barton School of Business.
Kiah is a WSU Barton Scholar, a four-year scholarship program that includes her tuition, books, room and board. She was able to use her Barton Scholarship proceeds to help fund part of her expenses. The other monies were made available in addition to her scholarship.
For the semester, I received three credits for an Honors Cooperative Education class. Basically it was like taking a semester off, but I’m still graduating in May. It all worked out.
Where did you live? I lived about two Metro stops from the White House. I found my apartment through a Washington intern student housing program. Since there are so many interns in Washington, D.C., there are companies that specialize in renting to interns, who need apartments for weird amounts of times.
What was the most fun about the internship? I was there at the end of the administration and also during the holidays, and they were having two holiday parties a day. I got to help with most of them.
I also helped put together the first South by South Lawn Festival, designed to share innovative ways to bring about social change. The festival was modeled after the South by Southwest Festival in San Antonio and featured art, film and musical performances.
I helped with and watched the “Love and Happiness” BET Concert on the South Lawn. Some of the performers at the BET concert included Usher, Jill Scott, Janelle Monet, Bell Biv Devoe, Leslie Odum Jr. and Yolanda Adams. They also had a lot of famous people who attended, including actors Angela Bassett and Jesse Williams.
What is the White House like? Almost everyone was either young, a woman, or a person of color. It was very diverse and very vibrant. A lot of the major departments were run by Black women. It was very magical; so many Black women in leadership.
It was really fun. There was a lot of joy, but it was extremely professional and everyone had a lot of work to do. They worked long hours, not because they had to, because they wanted to. I admired everyone’s commitment to the job. There were a lot of idealistic people who were working hard because they believed in what America could be.
It taught me a lot. Everyone worked so hard and so meticulously and, such a big attention was paid to details. I’ve never been in an environment where people were so focused.
After the election happened, the President announced the peaceful transfer of power that described what the White House was like. Everyone continued to be professional. There was no tolerance for tantrums or lack of professionalism. Everyone just worked harder, since they [the Trump Administration] had a different agenda. So, we worked hard to get all of the things in the administration as much of a chance as possible of staying. Then, we were all working at turbo speed. It was all worth it. I loved it.
How often did you see the Obamas? I saw the First Lady two or three times per week, when I would help at events or she would come to the office. In her office, she had a desk and couches. It looked more like a living room than an office. And she kept apples in her office. Anyone could come in and take one.
I saw the president at a Marine One landing, concerts, and he talked to the interns. I probably saw him about 10 times during the three-to-four-month internship.
Learn More About Other Individuals Who Perished in the Crash
