While most of Susannah Antlept’s classmates watched history’s longest U.S. government shutdown via push alerts and digital headlines in Milwaukee last fall, the Marquette sophomore was living in the heart of the unprecedented political moment. Her fall 2025 home base for living and learning was Marquette’s Les Aspin Center for Government, just a few blocks from the U.S. Supreme Court and the Capitol. The rare vantage point shifted how she sees politics and policy. “I’ve always read about events like this in the news. But I was living through them,” Antlept says, referencing the disruptive shutdown and the rollout of National Guard patrols on D.C. streets. “It felt like witnessing history up close.”
The unique Marquette-in-D.C. study and internship program allowed Antlept, who is studying economics and international affairs, to spend her fall semester not only living on Capitol Hill but working as an intern in the anti-trafficking department of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. She also enriched her Washington semester with courses led by Marquette faculty members on subjects such as the politics of climate change and corporate lobbying.
Antlept’s diverse experiences offer one glimpse of the vast offerings of the Aspin Center. The distinguished program for immersive education is evolving and expanding after more than 35 years of success. “We are really establishing the Aspin Center as Marquette’s campus in D.C.,” says Dr. Paul Nolette, professor of political science and the center’s director.
Part of the shift will make the center more relevant to students across all departments and disciplines. Business students are taking short-term roles with national economic agencies and Marquette nursing students spend summer terms interning with D.C. nonprofits advocating for public health policy.
Marquette’s D.C. legacy
The Les Aspin Center launched as an extension of Marquette in 1988 under the leadership of Rev. Timothy O’Brien. In 2023, Nolette became the second director of the center, which was named after former Marquette economics professor Les Aspin who went on to serve in Congress and as defense secretary under President Bill Clinton. To date roughly 3,000 students have participated in its programs, and many of them have moved on to careers serving in Congress, government agencies, public service agencies and private firms.
“We’re encouraging students from different fields and backgrounds to utilize the center and help them grow as professionals.”
Dr. Paul Nollete, director of the Les Aspin Center
Marquette nursing student Allison Monty is one of those Aspin participants finding opportunities beyond traditional politics. While living and taking classes at the center last summer, she interned with an advocacy-oriented nonprofit, creating materials for Congress members on how large hospitals have exploited a federal drug-pricing program intended to reduce drug costs for low-income hospital patients. It’s an issue championed by Dr. Lisa Grabert, Grad ’25, visiting research professor of nursing and frequent provider of congressional testimony on health policy, who guided Monty’s D.C. experience in collaboration with center staff. “I feel like I was actually doing something and making change,” Monty says.
The D.C. campus includes two Marquette-owned buildings on Capitol Hill with space to house up to 24 students. The historic main building combines classrooms and offices, a lounge and event space to host guest speakers, students, faculty and D.C.-based alumni.
New Programming at Les Aspin
Changes are making this D.C. hub more versatile, relevant and accessible than ever. “Public policy affects every single discipline,” Nolette says. “We’re encouraging students from different fields and backgrounds to utilize the center and help them grow as professionals.”
Upcoming themed semesters scheduled will shape programming and align with key world events. “Communications, Journalism and Media” in fall 2026 will coincide with mid-term elections. “Sports and Public Policy” will lead into the U.S.-hosted 2028 Olympic Games.
Another big change: short courses and specialized programming, including weeklong courses in December and January between typical semesters. A new “Maymester” will also offer a full three-credit-hour course over the span of just two weeks, with rotating offerings. This May, students can enroll in “The Politics of the American Revolution” to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Future courses will dive deeper into cultural issues. Offerings in English may leverage D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library, with its world-class collection of printed Shakespeare works, to launch into current social concerns. “No part of Marquette is untouched by public policy,” Nolette says. “This center is for the whole campus.”
