Junior girls do capital internships in D.C.
Rael Linder
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Op/Ed
Muhlenberg encourages students to study abroad junior year, and we have many options. Exotic, discipline-specific programs like Maastrict and Goldsmiths may sway students with the opportunity to travel and speak foreign languages. And the Office of Global Education boasts about exposure to diverse traditions and perspectives through international programs. While this is all well and good, I am here to persuade and recruit for the Washington, DC semester.
In times of a skyrocketing unemployment rate, we're all forced to compete for jobs. Unfortunately, an undergraduate education, high GPA, and leadership in an extracurricular activity doesn't mean you'll get a job after graduation. Internships provide students with on-the-job training, professional references and resume credit. In Washington, DC, we have the chance to explore future career possibilities, while making connections and learning skills on site. A full-time internship (4 days/week) for a full semester (14 weeks) is well respected by organizations, and provides profitable development for students.
The College's Washington Semester is remarkably fun. The program sets up about 40 students from around the country in fully-furnished apartments with kitchens, living rooms, and balconies, one block from the metro in Rosslyn, VA (just one stop from GWU). We work four days a week and reserve Wednesdays for field trips. Two favorites were the Newseum and Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays performance at the National Theatre. Students must register for two classes, which meet once a week at night. Plus, we get academic credit for everything.
To give you the rundown on our lives in the District, I interviewed a fellow junior, Andrea Ouellette, who is a double major in Communication and Spanish. In Washington, Andrea interns at Sutter's Mill Fund Raising & Strategy, which is a fund-raising office on Capitol Hill for 16 Democratic members of the House of Representatives. She starts by telling me, "Internships aren't glamorous," and I realize she may not have the most exciting typical day. When she arrives in the office at 8:30 am, she checks the headlines for information about the 16 House members she follows, and clips relevant articles.
In times of a skyrocketing unemployment rate, we're all forced to compete for jobs. Unfortunately, an undergraduate education, high GPA, and leadership in an extracurricular activity doesn't mean you'll get a job after graduation. Internships provide students with on-the-job training, professional references and resume credit. In Washington, DC, we have the chance to explore future career possibilities, while making connections and learning skills on site. A full-time internship (4 days/week) for a full semester (14 weeks) is well respected by organizations, and provides profitable development for students.
The College's Washington Semester is remarkably fun. The program sets up about 40 students from around the country in fully-furnished apartments with kitchens, living rooms, and balconies, one block from the metro in Rosslyn, VA (just one stop from GWU). We work four days a week and reserve Wednesdays for field trips. Two favorites were the Newseum and Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays performance at the National Theatre. Students must register for two classes, which meet once a week at night. Plus, we get academic credit for everything.
To give you the rundown on our lives in the District, I interviewed a fellow junior, Andrea Ouellette, who is a double major in Communication and Spanish. In Washington, Andrea interns at Sutter's Mill Fund Raising & Strategy, which is a fund-raising office on Capitol Hill for 16 Democratic members of the House of Representatives. She starts by telling me, "Internships aren't glamorous," and I realize she may not have the most exciting typical day. When she arrives in the office at 8:30 am, she checks the headlines for information about the 16 House members she follows, and clips relevant articles.