Overseas internships provide mind-opening experiences for students

Living in a foreign country, gaining on-the-job experience and earning academic credit all at the same time: For many it sounds more interesting than another semester in Indiana. If you're suffering from the tired-of-Bloomington blues, then an overseas internship next semester is the perfect solution. \nWhen senior Brian Walton, a marketing major, decided to study abroad in London last spring, he took advantage of his program's option of a part-time internship in addition to taking classes. He learned about this program through the Office of Overseas Study, the on-campus liaison for students wishing to study, intern or work abroad. \n"I went through IES (Institute for the International Education of Students) and sent my resume with my application," Walton said. "They looked for jobs for me, then once I got there I could pick and choose. I set up an interview with the marketing department of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and they hired me on the spot."\nSenior Lisa Yu, a political science and Spanish double major, spent last fall interning with the House of Commons in London, then last spring interned at the American embassy in Madrid, Spain. She set up the Madrid internship herself and was able to take part in the daily life of the embassy. \n"I went on my own through the State Department to find the Madrid internship," Yu said. "I got to go to meetings, write reporting cables and work with Foreign Service officers."\nOverseas internships can offer hands-on experience, allowing students to learn about their field of interest as well as the country's culture. The highlight of Walton's experience as an assistant marketing intern was spearheading his own Web site project for the museum. \n"I worked two full days a week," Walton said. "I started out doing some analysis of market research. Then one day in the mail we got this thing from a tourism site ... wanting us to buy a microsite to advertise the museum. My boss was busy, so I put together a presentation, and she decided to buy a site based on my presentation."\nWalton spent the next month and a half seeing the project through.\n"I put together everything on the site," Walton said. "It gets a couple thousand hits a day. I had direct impact with my project." \nFinding an internship abroad rather than in the United States allows students to have a cultural experience as well as learning job skills.\nYu said doing business in a foreign-language speaking country was challenging but did not keep her from enjoying the experience.\n"I had to read two or three Spanish newspapers every day, and there were some people I had to use Spanish to interact with," Yu said. "It took longer to complete certain projects because everything was in Spanish, so that was kind of frustrating." \nBut Yu's favorite part of the embassy internship was bringing to life the political lessons she learned in the classroom. She learned firsthand how two different governments work.\nWalton said he hopes having international experience on his resume will help him find a full-time job working overseas. \n"Now that I'm a senior and I'm looking to graduate, I see all these companies that have offices in London," Walton said. "I'm hoping that I can work somewhere here and then transfer to London. Hopefully when they see my internship in London, that experience will show them that I don't mind being abroad, soaking up the culture."\nCombining classes with an internship is the most popular way of finding an internship abroad, overseas adviser Paige Weting said. Finding a full-time job overseas is more difficult, especially for undergraduates. Students typically take three or four regular academic classes and work 10-15 hours a week at an unpaid internship. \nOne of the few problems with adding an internship to a study abroad program is getting credit for it. \n"We stress that students must see their adviser to make sure they can get academic credit for the internship," Weting said. "Some departments generally don't give credit for internships, and we've taken issue with that. Because they almost always have a cultural experience with the internship, the students should be getting credit. The business school is usually good about giving credit, but we sometimes have a harder time with other schools."\nWeting said the office works with departments that usually don't give credit and encourages them to grant students the equivalent of an academic class for the internship.\nIf you're already considering studying abroad, adding an internship can give you professional experience and a greater interaction with the culture. Plus, having an overseas internship on your resume might just separate you from the pack of students hoping to find international jobs after graduation. It might take some courage to face a foreign office environment, but Walton and Yu agree the frustrations were worth the lessons they learned.\nFor more information on internship opportunities abroad, contact the Office of Overseas Study at 855-9304.