Lester B. Murillo has never been to the nation’s capital, but later this week he’ll be in Washington, D.C. as part of a prestigious scholarship program.

Murillo, along with 23 other students from various CSU campuses and three from Dominican University, will head to Washington, D.C. on Sunday as a representative in the Congressional Internship Program.

The internship, sponsored by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, gives training opportunities on various governmental duties to participants through a full scholarship for one semester.

“I applied for the internship because the efforts of the Panetta Institute to educate students on public policy, government and leadership align with my future goals,” said Murillo, a senior criminal justice major, in a statement. “I hope to learn more about the rationale and process of policy making by the government. I also hope to grow both as an individual and as a leader.”

According to the program, participants are nominated by campus presidents and are selected based on scholastic achievements and interest in politics.

Each intern will spend 11 weeks in Washington, D.C. working full-time in the office of a California member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The program begins Sunday with two weeks of preparation at the Panetta Institute on the CSU Monterey Bay campus. This training offers tips from elected officials, seasoned government staff and policy experts, giving students the chance to understand what they can expect once they arrive on Capitol Hill, officials said.

“These are tomorrow’s leaders,” Institute Co-Chair and CEO Sylvia M. Panetta pointed out. “The program helps prepare them right now to find ways to contribute to the public good.”