Students' Summer Internship Experiences
Matthew
Belknap '01 (Spanish)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Peppermint
Records (Minneapolis, MN), Andy Carlson and David Weeks
Faculty Sponsor: Pablo Silva (History)
Funding Source: Wilson
Internship
Site Selection:
"I've been writing songs for
about six years now and performing them in limited venues for
about four years. I wanted to learn how to make a career in music
work.
"I had listened to a few Peppermint artists and gotten a
vague understanding of what Peppermint was. I called the Peppermint
office to see if they would be interested in having an intern,
and Andy and I ended up talking for over an hour. From that phone
interview, I decided that Peppermint would be a perfect place
to learn the skills I wanted to learn and that I would like the
management.
"Peppermint provides promotion and
distribution services to independent (not signed by a record
company) musicians. Also, the musicians who work with Peppermint
play styles of music somewhat similar to my own, so I thought
this would be the perfect way to learn how to do the very tasks
that I would be doing in supporting myself as a musician."
Peppermint Records was an effective internship
site for two reasons, according to Matt. "The small size
of Peppermint (2 employees), which allowed me to see EVERYTHING
that went on there, and the willingness of Dave and Andy to teach
me about their business."
Internship
Activities:
As an intern at Peppermint Records,
Matt "wrote artist biographies and album descriptions for
Peppermint titles on Amazon.com, explored and submitted music
to new Internet retail and radio sites, filled orders, gave input
into the design and text of newsletters and other promotional
items, wrote a draft of the Peppermint summer email newsletter,
and designed a CD rack to fit on the countertops of coffeeshops."
Which was the most challenging activity? "All of the writing
aspects of my job challenged me the most because I had to find
all the information that I could about an artist that I didn't
necessarily know very well and convey the essence of that artist's
work in a way that was consistent with the overall tone they
were looking for. For example, I learned that I could go fairly
far off the deep end in describing Stuart Davis, the master of
'post-apocalyptic punk folk,' but that I should use a radically
different tone to describe the soulful folk duo Storyhill."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
Matt's internship "did what
my Grinnell classes have not done, teaching me about the inner
workings of a business. At Grinnell I have learned a bit about
microeconomics, but that knowledge remained stuck in the theoretical
realm until I got a taste of the day-to-day decisions that Peppermint's
owners made in order to succeed. I had already understood that
a business would be well-served to search for new markets, but
at Peppermint, I learned how a musician such as myself would
do that. Promoting with other artists and using Internet radio
stations are just two of the ways I learned to expand my listenership."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"I actually did learn all
those business skills that I wanted to learn. Now that I've recorded
an album, I'm going to put those skills to use to make myself
more visible as a musician. Although my immediate plan isn't
to survive solely as a musician, I do plan to have my music be
much more that a hobby. Thanks to what I learned at Peppermint,
I feel ready to face the music world." Matt notes that he
now has his own CD; those interested in this could contact him
by emailing [belknap@grinnell.edu].
BJ
Bloom '02 (Anthropology)
Internship
Site/Supervisor: Living History Farms (Urbandale, IA),
Joe Anderson
Faculty Sponsor: Jon Andelson (Anthropology)
Funding Source: Center for Prairie Studies
Internship
Site Selection:
"It was luck," is how BJ describes finding his internship
with the Living History Farms. "I was talking with my advisor
(Jon Andelson) and I hadn't made any plans for the summer. He
said that he had a grant available if I could find an internship
site. " BJ accessed the Center for Prairie Studies website,
spoke with a few people, and secured the internship with Living
History Farms. "If you're looking to do very independent
research, Living History Farms is a good site." The Living
History Farms, located in the suburbs of Des Moines, "is
an interactive interpretative museum that has recreated rural
Iowa farm communities from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries."
Internship
Activities:
BJ "researched land use and government policy with respect
to Iowa agriculture during the 1930s and 1940s to give the Living
History Farms background knowledge about what life was like on
a farm in 1950." The most challenging aspect of this project
was "trying to establish a focus on my research especially
at the beginning. I was given total leeway to develop a topic.
Ultimately, BJ's research focused on the 1930s and 1940s period.
In addition to using primary sources, BJ interviewed local farmers
who had been farming during that period. He used both qualitative
and quantitative analyses.
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
The internship with Living History Farms "gave me an idea
of what it's like to do research. I hadn't realized how much
time it takes. I hadn't had extensive experience with primary
source documents. I also discovered that I like writing."
Having long, solitary periods of research time was more challenging.
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"I really enjoyed writing but I can't do it by myself. I'm
more social, " says BJ. Future plans will probably include
writing and possibly journalism.
Julia
Busetti '01 (History)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Children's
Defense Fund (Washington, D.C.) / Ilona Dorsey
Faculty Sponsor: Victoria Brown (History)
Funding Source: Rosenfield
Internship
Site Selection:
Julia hoped to secure an internship in Washington, DC, and learned
about the CDF opportunity through a friend. After hearing Marian
Wright Edelman, the head of the Children's Defense Fund, speak
at Grinnell, Julia's enthusiasm for working at the CDF increased.
The Children's Defense Fund, a non-partisan child advocacy group,
has a large and well-developed internship program.
"The best thing about the CDF was
the program for all the interns (40). We had meetings every week
with speakers, and people were so willing to talk with us."
Internship
Activities:
Julia's activities included "reviewing material to insert
into a national report, calling survey respondents to ask follow-up
questions, creating a database, updating a phone list, filing,
and delivering information to Congressional offices."
What was the most challenging activity? Conducting follow-up
telephone interviews with parents. "We had community monitoring
surveys and we had to call people back to try to get more information
on child care. We were on our own to do this, and it was important
to do a good job, but we were not supervised closely. I was surprised
that the people were so willing to talk and to share their stories."
While it was frustrating trying to reach people by phone, Julia
found the direct contact with families very rewarding.
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"I wanted to learn how the CDF works, how they lobby for
better policies, and what policies are affecting children - and
I feel like I did."
Julia's studies in social history proved
especially relevant to this internship. "When I said I was
a history major, people would say 'why are you here?' But I think
history is related to everything."
The internship also helped Julia's career
exploration. "I know more about law as a possible career
now. I had the opportunity over the summer to talk with a lot
of people in law school or who are lawyers. I now know the sort
of law I would want to do." Although Julia is not certain
she will choose a legal career, the internship at CDF gave her
contact with lawyers and an increased knowledge of public interest
law.
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"Just having the CDF experience on
my resume will be useful and the CDF could be a future employer.
There's also an alumni network of CDF interns. This was an area
of policy I wanted to learn about. I knew the importance of issues
facing children in this country, but I didn't have a grasp of
the specifics of these problems. Now I'm trying to start a CDF
project on campus." The summer's experience in Washington,
D.C. thus led to a local advocacy effort here in Grinnell.
Jordan
Esbrook '01 (History)
Internship Site/Supervisor: US Representative
Brian Baird's Office (Washington, D.C.), George Nolan and
Jennifer McKibbin
Faculty Sponsor: George Drake (History)
Funding Source: Rosenfield
Internship
Site Selection:
"I talked with Joyce Stern
(in the CDO) about how to find something in Washington, D.C.
and she put me in contact with some alumni from her class."
One alumnus currently worked for Baird and welcomed a Grinnell
intern. During the summer, there were several interns from other
colleges working in Baird's office, too. Jordan found housing
in the area by living with family members in the suburbs.
Baird's office proved to be an effective
internship site "because it was such a young office and
such a small office. Also, because it was an election year there
was so much going on that the older staff relied on us. They
let us do a lot of things - send us to briefings, for example.
There was good communication between staff. Brian was around
a lot, too."
Internship
Activities:
"I was in charge of opening
and sorting mail, handling constituent requests for tours and
flags, and other office duties. I assisted staff members with
constituent mail, newspaper columns, and the Congressman's schedule.
I attended legislative briefings and committee meetings with
and for staff. I helped train new interns."
Which was the most challenging activity?
"Writing newspaper columns. The press secretary was responsible
for writing the columns, Brian would proof them, and they would
send them out to local newspapers. The one that was really hard
to write was about Medicare reimbursement. Nobody understands
this and there's no way to write it clearly. This showed me the
challenge of trying to understand the convoluted policies and
explain them to people."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"I had not done a lot with
American politics other than an introductory political science
course, but I learned about British politics when I was on Grinnell-in-London.
It was great to compare the two systems." Although Jordan
is uncertain about career plans, she "loved living and working
in D.C. If I wanted to get a job there after graduation, I could
probably do it. I know how the Congressional office system works
and how you get various staff positions."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"I'm a lot more confident
in my ability to find a job, do it, and figure out if I don't
like it I can find something else to do. I can pull it all together
on my own. When I got back from London (after fall '99), I had
just had a great experience and was so independent, but it was
going to be so easy to fall back into 'going to school, go home,
going to school, go home.' I didn't want to do that; I thought
it was so important for me to do something productive with my
summer."
Matthew
Ewing '02 (Political Science)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Ozone
Action (Washington, D.C., Brandon MacGillis)
Faculty Sponsor: Barbara Trish (Political Science)
Funding Source: Rosenfield
Internship
Site Selection:
"I wanted to work in the field
of environmental activism. I had worked with Ozone Action before
and I knew them to be one of the best groups around. I had worked
with them on a couple of campaigns here and with the Iowa caucuses."
According to a company brochure, "Ozone
Action is the only national non profit advocacy group working
solely to stop global warming. Combining media, grassroots, legislative,
direct action, corporate, markets, and education strategies,
Ozone Action has run a series of successful campaigns to elevate
the issue of global warming, push politicians to solve global
warming and weaken the corporate opposition to common sense solutions."
Ozone Action's director recently left Ozone
Action to become the head of Greenpeace (also in DC). Although
Matt may have been Ozone Action's first and last intern, he says
that students interested in a similar experience should consider
interning at Greenpeace.
"I think what made Ozone Action an
effective site and what will continue to make Greenpeace an effective
site was the huge degree of flexibility and trust they put into
interns. They say 'here's a project idea, go run with it.'"
Internship
Activities:
"There was not so much a typical day." Matt would begin
each day by reading two or three newspapers. "After that
I got to work on a wide variety of projects and I often chose
my own projects. This included everything from researching and
writing reports on US Senators and their record to planning pretty
large events. I organized a group of people going to Philadelphia
to pressure John McCain to influence his speaking at the convention.
I also organized smaller events."
Most challenging? "Bringing the fifty
students to Philadelphia for the 'shadow convention.' It was
challenging but it was a huge success. We got national press
attention and it was just an amazing opportunity for me."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
As a political science major with
an environmental studies concentration, Matt found a strong relationship
between his academic studies and his internship. "I got
to go to DC and see how these two fields intersect. I listened
to Senate hearings on environmental issues, and by attending
many events - from rallies to meetings of other groups - I gained
a broad understanding of where these two different fields merge
together and often clash."
"The internship solidified and refined
my interest in this area as a career."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"The internship gave me the
opportunity to live on my own and afford to do that while working
in a job I really believed in. It gave me a taste of what I would
want to strive for once I get out of college. That was very valuable."
Halima
Hakim '02 (International Relations)
Internship Site/Supervisor: La Defensoria
del Pueblo (Lima, Peru), Dr. Gino Costa
Faculty Sponsor: Pablo Silva (History)
Funding Source: Rosenfield
Internship
Site Selection:
"I wanted to do something
dealing with human rights at home because I had been here for
nearly two years and I wanted to see how I could apply what I
was learning at Grinnell.
I also wanted to do something that felt good to me, that felt
like I was giving something back to the people of my country.
When I found out that La Defensoria del Pueblo was recruiting
interns, I emailed them."
"La Defensoria del Pueblo is an organism
created in 1993. It is independent of the government and it works
towards protecting the community's and peoples' rights and ensuring
that the government provides the people with public services
such as water and electric supply. For a country like Peru, having
an institution like the Defensoria del Pueblo is of crucial importance.
For the past five years the country's dictatorial government
has committed many abuses against the Peruvian people. In the
Defensoria del Pueblo, Peruvians have found a way of communicating
these abuses and finding a solution to the problem."
La Defensoria del Pueblo "had a lot
of experience with internships, were very open to receiving people,
and they had a lot of foreign students interning in different
areas. The fact that I was someone from Peru was very nice. I
knew the culture, and they appreciated that."
Internship
Activities:
Halima worked with the Victims of Terrorism team. "I researched
laws that benefit victims of terrorism, worked on charts and
tables to present information efficiently, read report cases,
and interviewed victims of terrorism."
At first, just reading and researching
proved most challenging, because Halima did not have a legal
background. Most of the staff members at La Defensoria del Pueblo
were lawyers. However, "after a while, I was more comfortable."
At the end of the internship a different challenge emerged: not
to feel frustrated that she could not help the people more. "We
were just conducting research which we would present to the government
and it's up to the government" to take action.
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"My International Relations
major consists of three core courses: history, political science,
and French. The history and political science aspects were very
useful" in this internship. "My education at Grinnell
really helped me to have an open mind and be flexible."
"I know that what I want to do is
something related to human rights."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
Halima grew up in the "privileged
society in Peru and attended a private school" but she says
that her "parents always made me aware of the fact that
there was another part of Peru, less privileged, which was the
majority. I always felt like I had to do something. Going back
and doing something hands-on made me feel like I was making a
difference even if it was very little. The whole experience,
even working in downtown Lima, was a huge experience. I was at
risk every day taking the bus and going downtown. It made me
appreciate a lot what I have in Grinnell and our ability to express
ourselves freely here."
"The last week of the internship,
I was put in charge of the phones. On July 28, our president
gave his speech and began his third (unconstitutional ) term,
and I got a lot of phone calls from people who were desperate
because their relatives had gone to protests and had not returned
and they didn't know where they were. Going to the office that
day, I was caught in a confrontation between police and civilians
and I had to hide in a travel agency for an hour. In that hour,
I was questioning everything that I had done that summer, questioning
the Peruvian people - seeing that they were taking action after
ten years. It was really useful for me - a frightening experience
- but it made me so much stronger and helped me realize this
is what I want to do."
Margaret
Higginson '01 (Music)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Dorian
Opera Theatre (Decorah, IA), Rebecca Lister
Faculty Sponsor: John Rommerein (Music)
Funding Source: Creative Arts
Internship
Site Selection:
Margaret chose an internship at
Dorian "because I knew it would be a good place to study
singing, and opera in particular. I knew I'd be able to participate
in putting together a full opera production, and I'd be able
to work with a voice teacher and a vocal coach, so I'd be working
on both the 'macro' (full productions) and 'micro' (individual)
aspects of opera. I could have done this in other places, but
Dorian seemed the most tailored to my needs as a young singer."
Dorian Opera Theatre is located at Luther College in Decorah,
Iowa.
"Dorian was an effective site because
it offered structured opportunities for young singers to see
what singing opera is all about. Our days were stuffed full of
singing and activities related to singing. All we had to do to
be involved in a world of music was wake up in the morning. It
was also effective because it made me think about my future as
a singer, and myself as a singer now, and how I want to get from
one place to another. I was involved in making myself a better
singer with every part of my body, an experience I've never had
before. Another of Dorian's assets were the other people - not
just the staff and teachers and directors of the program, but
the other singers. My roommate, Heidi, had the best outlook on
singing and really challenged me to stretch my thoughts both
about myself and about singing."
Internship
Activities:
Margaret's activities during the
internship included lessons, coachings, movement class, rehearsals,
playing the part of Edith in Pirates of Penzance, chorus parts
in La Traviata, and recitals. "Each activity had its own
challenges, but I think the most challenging, and the place where
I grew the most, was in working on my own voice, especially in
lessons and somewhat in coachings. I was one of the youngest
people there, and the only one not focusing completely on voice
in school or life. Consequently, I felt like I had the farthest
to go vocally. While I wasn't the youngest person there in age,
I felt like the youngest person there vocally. Also, because
I am so young and because the voice doesn't mature until your
late twenties to mid thirties, everyone I talked to had a different
idea of what my voice was going to sound like when it finally
does settle (mature), and what I should work on now to help it
along in that direction. I basically had to learn to trust my
instincts and not push my voice farther than I think it can go.
Also, I learned some techniques that were really great while
I was working on them with a teacher, but that were very frustrating
to try to work on by myself in the practice room, so I had to
learn how to make practicing fun and experimental."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
The internship "really gave
me a jump start on the kind of learning I need to do . It put
me on the right track. I learned what I needed to learn, and
how to learn it, and what kind of technique I need to learn,
and what I might be able to do in the future."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"For those four weeks I was
immersed, whether I liked it or not, in a world of singers and
singing, and thus was forced to think about my further commitment
to this world of song. This was really a gift, because it is
so easy to get distracted by other things at Grinnell, like the
paper sitting to my right at the moment that I have to turn in
by 5, or the reading I didn't do last week, or the meeting I
have tonight for a project due on Friday. Only 2 credits of each
of my semester here are devoted to learning to sing, and there
are always so many other things going on, that to have had the
opportunity to do nothing else but sing was really valuable."
Amanda
James '02 (International Relations)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Mahyco
Seed Company (Jalna, India), Usha Barwale Zehr
Faculty Sponsor: Wayne Moyer (Political Science)
Funding Source: Rosenfield
Internship
Site Selection:
"I have a strong interest
in India. My major is International Relations so I'm interested
in global development and that contains a lot of different issues
like population and food security. I was interested in India
because of the population problem and how they deal with feeding
that many people. I'm associated with the World Food Prize, which
is an association here in Iowa, which honors a laureate every
year. They have one laureate who is from India. They gave me
the connection and then I found the internship through Grinnell."
"Mahyco, Maharashtra's Hybrid Seed
Company, is a large crop-genetics company in India and one of
the most influential in that country. The company markets more
than 300 varieties of rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, pulses, oilseeds,
and vegetables."
Amanda found Mahyco to be an effective
internship site because of the international and well-educated
staff. "My supervisor was an excellent supervisor; she had
lived in the US for 14 years." Host families were all familiar
with other countries. Living in a small town in the state of
Maharashtra, a safe location in India, also facilitated the success
of this internship.
Internship
Activities:
Amanda "conducted a market
and farmer survey to gain knowledge about Indian agriculture,
which was done in two parts: a) a general survey about the agricultural
situation in Punjab and Karnataka, b) specific survey on cotton
market in Maharashtra. Then I conducted a survey to learn about
the perceptions of Mahyco staff about the usefulness and cost
of biotechnology products. For all activities I prepared a questionnaire
and final conclusions from data collected."
Most challenging? "Not being able
to speak in Hindi. I had an interpreter with me every time, but
if I wanted to get information from the farmer about the company
(Mahyco) that I was with, it was hard because I always had someone
from the company with me wearing the Mahyco shirt and looking
like a representative." This made it difficult to ensure
that the farmers spoke candidly.
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
This internship tied in with Amanda's
global development classes at Grinnell and with her economic
classes, too. "We learned a lot of development paradigms,
especially with India. We learned about Gandhi's and Nehru's
ideas of development. It was interesting for me to see that there
are several farmers who still promote Gandhi's view of subsistence
farming, and then, of course, there were a lot who follow Nehru's
views."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"My internship experience
helped confirm my interest and enthusiasm for global development
studies and international agriculture and food security issues.
My career goals have become more focused in response to my internship."
The summer's experience "reinforced
the idea that it's possible for me to make an impact on food
security throughout the world. There are so many different ways
to go about it." Next steps for Amanda? Possibly the Peace
Corps, possibly graduate school.
Leah
Kaplan '01 (Political Science)
Internship Site/Supervisor: US
PIRG (Washington, DC), Rick Trilsch, Angie Farleigh
Faculty Sponsor: Wayne Moyer (Political Science)
Funding Source: Rosenfield Program
Internship
Site Selection:
"I wanted to work in a non-profit
organization and feel as if I was making a difference. I also
wanted to work on environmental issues. I had heard about the
PIRGs from living in Denver where they are very active.When I
did an Internet search, their internship showed up so I applied.
US Public Interest Research Group considers itself a 'watch dog'
group that looks out for the interest of the public. The state
PIRGs created US PIRG in 1983 in order to have a group that functioned
at the national level and represented the state PIRGS in Washington
and in Congress. This organization works in three basic areas
of concern: consumer interests, problems with the government,
and protection of the environment."
The location of the US PIRG office made
this internship particularly effective. "Washington, D.C.
is the place to be for politics. There is so much going on all
the time, I felt like I was right in the middle of everything.
We were within walking distance of all the Congressional offices
so it made lobbying and doing drops really easy."
Internship
Activities:
At US PIRG, Leah "researched effects of diesel exhaust on
public health, analyzed public policy to control diesel pollution,
and assisted in writing a report, 'Dangers of Diesel.'"
She also "documented the health benefits from cleaning up
diesel vehicles, organized diesel campaign training in DC for
environmental advocates, and coordinated activities of PIRG field
staff nationwide for national grassroots campaign to clean up
diesels. Leah provided general campaign back-up including handling
press calls and other media work and dispersing campaign materials
to members of Congress."
"I was most challenged with doing
field work. Although I feel like I have a strong background in
politics, I'm not as well-prepared in grassroots activities and
I found it difficult to motivate people and get people involved.
There are so many issues especially in terms of the environment
that it is really hard to find people to support an issue, especially
when it may hurt their pocketbook."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"I plan to be involved in
non-profit work when I graduate. I think I've realized that I
want to work more with human rights issues rather than the environment
but I really like the way non-profits function and the changes
they are able to make in society."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"After talking with people
in the offices about their experiences before working with PIRG,
I decided to apply to the Peace Corps. Just being around people
who were so dedicated to their causes reaffirmed my commitment
to non-profit work."
Amit
Nangalia '01 (Economics and Computer Science)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Edict
Incorporated (Rochester, MI), Tor Hough '87
Faculty Sponsor: Henry Walker (Mathematics and Computer Science)
Funding Source: Finkelman
Internship
Site Selection:
As summer approached, Amit faced
two employment choices: stay in Grinnell and conduct research
or obtain an off-campus internship. After talking with Steve
Langerud in the Career Development Office, Amit learned about
Tor Hough '87 and his small technology company, Edict Incorporated.
"Even when I was talking with Tor, I felt like he was really
bending over backwards for me. He was very encouraging."
Edict develops business support systems using web applications.
"The small size and the casual environment at Edict "
all contributed to the success of this internship site. In a
male-dominated field, Edict's diversified staff including two
women also improved the work environment.
Internship
Activities:
Amit developed web-based applications at Edict -- pseudo-coding
solutions, developing HTML interfaces, writing SQL queries, developing
graphic user interfaces, active server pages script and unit
testing completed code. The most challenging aspect of this was
learning the programming language. "In the classroom setting
what we usually do is have books and we look at our notes. Microsoft
provides such a good resource for developers. I had to learn
how to go on to that website, search for it, pick out the appropriate
information, and use it. That was the most challenging part."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
Amit's internship at Edict helped
him develop skills in software design that could lead to certification
offered by Microsoft. "I learned skills to make myself more
employable."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
Working regular business hours,
commuting to work, living on his own, all gave Amit "a taste
of a work schedule. Career-wise, I could see how the dynamics
of the work environment are different from the college environment.
I really observed a lot. In the work environment, you have a
supervisor who you can't go to every single time. You have to
spend more time figuring out problems on your own. I definitely
see working at Edict as one of the possibilities after graduation.
It was a perfect match."
Andy
Nelson '01 (Anthropology)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Office
of U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (Washington, D.C.), Kathy Gallagher
Faculty Sponsor: Jon Andelson, Anthropology
Funding Source: Center for Prairie Studies
Internship
Site Selection:
After other plans for the summer fell through, Andy organized
the internship in Washington, DC, fairly quickly at the end of
the semester. "My brother, who works for Sen. Dorgan, pointed
me towards several possible sites in Washington (farming related
agencies). It turned out that his office would be the best --
most flexible and ready to meet my research needs. My final decision
came down to working in Dorgan's office or at Rural Affairs in
Nebraska, both of which sounded very attractive. Issues of living
(housing in the very small Walthill, Nebraska looked difficult)
and my desire to be in an urban environment after Grinnell made
my decision."
Senator Dorgan's office proved to be an
effective internship site because of the "office's ability
to be flexible." They encouraged Andy to "research
practically anything. Also, they provided me with excellent resources
- my own study desk, computer, phone. And, the status implied
in telling someone that you are calling from a Senator's office
was very beneficial. People were very compliant and happy to
meet with me."
Internship
Activities:
"I conducted research on wind
energy and small-family farmers, which included a two-week tour
of the Midwest to meet with and interview farmers. I also wrote
letters for the Dorgan office. The letters responded to constituent
letters concerning energy issues."
Which was the most challenging activity?
"The project on farmers - mostly because I made it my top
priority. It entailed a lot of research, as well as coordinating
and meeting with many farmers. My two week trip in the Midwest
(via Greyhound bus) required lots of planning and logistics,
a welcome challenge."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"Basically, it was new sort
of research for me because it was not limited to any sort of
disciplinary confines, and it was also focused on the people
I interviewed, not book research. I was able to really fit the
project around what I heard from respondents. When you deal directly
with people who are living your study/research, it becomes more
valuable and interesting."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
Andy knows now that "I do
not want to encounter a life in politics, especially not national
politics in DC. Although I had this suspicion before, my experience
made it painfully clear. Yet, many aspects of the job - getting
to know farmers, travel in the Midwest, observing the dynamics
of the Senate - were engaging. I have gained a knowledge for
the agricultural way of life in America, which before now, I
was completely ignorant of despite attending college in the corn
belt for four years."
Adam
Noyce '02 (History)
Internship
Site/Supervisor: The Field Museum (Chicago, IL), Stephen
Nash '86
Faculty Sponsor: John Whittaker (Anthropology)
Funding Source: Wilson
Internship
Site Selection:
The Field Museum of Natural History,
a large, well-known, and well-respected Chicago museum, offers
numerous learning opportunities for interns. Adam chose the Field
Museum because he had visited its many collections as a child
growing up in Wisconsin. "I always had an idyllic image
of museums in general and had known the Field Museum since I
was a kid. I thought about working there and I wasn't sure if
it would be in collections management." Adam contacted a
Field Museum staff member who forwarded his inquiry about internships
to the Anthropology Department's Head of Collections, Stephen
Nash, who just happens to be a Grinnell alumnus (Class of '86).
"Once my request got to Steve, he said I could pretty much
set up whatever I wanted."
Internship
Activities:
As an intern at the Field Museum, Adam "assisted in collection
research, helped create a sample inventory for grant-writing
data, assisted in rehousing and movement of collections, and
evaluated repatriation claims of artifacts." The most challenging
activity? "Just finding the artifacts in the museum's large
collection."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"It helped me realize that
handling collections and bureaucracy takes patience. I do not
need to be an anthropology major to be involved in museums and
would prefer to be a museum researcher."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
"It gave me an opportunity
to live in a big city. That was a good experience -- very different,
very positive. Working at the Field Museum was a firsthand experience
of everything in a large educational and research institution.
I made incredible contacts."
Liz
Roeder '01 (Biology)
Internship
Site/Supervisor: The Second Chance Wildlife Center (Gaithersburg,
MD), Mira Millar '93
Faculty Sponsor: Peter and Kathy Jacobson (Biology)
Funding Source: Environmental Studies
Internship
Site Selection:
"I'm very interested in wildlife
and I've thought about being a wildlife veterinarian. Before
I actually went through with vet school, I thought that an internship
where I could work closely with wildlife -- like a rehabilitation
center -- would be a good idea." When Liz saw a flyer in
the science building that Mira Millar '93, assistant director
of the Second Chance Wildlife Center, had sent in, she decided
to try this internship. The Second Chance Wildlife Center "is
a donation-operated wildlife rehabilitation center. Located in
sprawling suburbs with forests intermingled, the center takes
in injured or orphaned wild animals, such as birds, raccoons,
and opossums, nurses them back to health, and returns them to
their natural habitat. The suburbs are stretching out so a lot
of people are coming into contact with the wildlife. Because
they were so overwhelmed with patients there -- they were very
busy -- I was given a lot of responsibility."
Internship
Activities:
* Animal care (cage cleaning, feeding,
medicating, initial exams, dosage calculation, nutritional maintenance,
weight monitoring, nutritional needs evaluation.)
* Public relations (counseling, crisis
management, education, tours)
The most challenging activity? "Public
relations. It was hard when someone had kept an injured or orphaned
wild animal for a while and didn't know how to take care of it
and the animal ended up dying because they didn't know what they
were doing. It was really frustrating to try to educate them
without making them feel horrible."
Internship's
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"I'm doing an internship with
a vet in town right now which is giving me a little bit different
perspective. The internship with Second Chance Wildlife Center
was a really good introduction to basic animal care. I was able
to give injections, learned how to do wing wraps, for example."
Long-Term
Benefits of the Internship:
The internship "was really good in teaching me the basic
medical procedures. It made me understand and appreciate wildlife
more."
Binyam
Taddese '02 (Economics)
Internship Site/Supervisor: Twin Cities
Free-Net (Minneapolis, MN), Ben Stallings '97
Faculty Sponsor: Samuel Rebelsky (Mathematics and Computer Science)
Funding Source: Noyce/Intel
Internship
Site Selection:
Binyam's interest in non-profit
work and his fondness for Minneapolis led him to find an internship
opportunity with Twin Cities Free-Net through the Career Development
Office. Twin Cities Free-Net is "a place where you could
learn a lot because they are very understaffed and you get a
lot of responsibility. If you're there, you are somebody in that
organization." Founded in 1995, Twin Cities Free-Net is
"a non-profit organization that uses Internet technologies
in helping communities of shared interests or need." (Note:
Binyam says that Twin Cities Free-Net's focus may be shifting
because of the rapid pace of technological changes so internship
opportunities in the future may be different.)
Internship
Activities:
*Taught basic computer skills to
various non-profit organization staff members.
*Fixed up old computers
*Networked computers labs
*Performed other systems administrator tasks
The most challenging activity? "Basically
teaching computer skills because I had never done that."
Different constituents had varying degrees of understanding the
material.
"Trying to help everyone -- this was challenging."
Internship
Connection to Career/Academic Goals:
"When I first came to Grinnell
I thought of doing a computer science major and found that that
was not exactly what I wanted to do -- programming, etc. But
I still had a great interest in that area. I learned that there
is a Technology Studies concentration. Also it turns out that
Ben (worksite supervisor) was a Technology Studies concentrator
at Grinnell."
Long-Term
Benefits of Internship:
"The main thing was moving
to the Technology Studies Concentration. Other than that, I learned
there's a lot to be learned about computers." Ultimately,
Binyam would like to work in a larger non-profit organization.
