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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University alumnus Khanh Le has been awarded a fellowship to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.

The nine-month program provides an opportunity for post-college graduates to be placed in either the executive or legislative branches of government, as well as federal agencies, or a non-profit organization in the Washington area. Only three fellows are named each year.

Le, a native of Portland, will be assigned to work in the office of Congressman Mike Honda (D) of California. Once he starts work in Washington D.C., Le will be assigned to a specific project.

The fellowship requires that the person has included in their class studies any housing policies, urban planning, mortgages, etc. Le graduated from OSU in spring 2010 from the Master of Public Policy program, led by OSU political science professor Brent Steel.

Le, who is 27-years-old, has just returned from Mexico where he has been interning for a program that works with indigenous women on microfinance.

"I want to expand my work on the national level and be involved in the efforts that Congressman Honda has established to move policies that will help improve the lives of millions of Asian Pacific Islander Americans and other Americans," he said.

OSU professor Steel said this is the second graduate from his eight-year-old Master of Public Policy Program to be named as a Congressional Fellow. Alum Alex Johnson was named as a Congressional Black Caucus Fellow in 2006.