BEAUMONT- Four Lamar University students completed participation in the Texas Legislative Internship Program during the latest legislative session that ended June 1. Morris Williams of Arlington, Curtis Smith of Beaumont, Melinda Griffith of Bridge City and Dimetrius Holland of Longview were awarded stipends to participate in Texas’ premier internship program and received academic credit from Lamar’s political science department. The students moved to Austin in January and were immediately immersed in the complexities of the legislative process for the next five months, said Dominic Beggan, assistant professor of political science. The Beaumont Foundation of American provided $35,000 to enable the Lamar students to participate.  The university and the foundation’s executive director Frank Newton are committed to involving Lamar students in this ongoing internship program, Beggan said. Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis sponsors the internship program, which began in 1990.  The program is administered by the Mickey Leland Center on World Hunger and Peace at Texas Southern University.