USD Magazine, Spring 1999

INSIDE THE BELT Internships Bring Students to Nation's Capital T hink about how an actress must feel when she sets foot on a Broadway stage for the first time. Or the emotions a rookie ballplayer experiences when he

pendent study project that each student must omplete upon returning to San Diego. "From the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Commerce to the Braz· ian Embassy to the Smithsonian, the work opportunities ar almost limitless." One of the biggest draws is the chance to work with mem hers of Congress, and senior Ryan Gerena landed a lumb assignment this semester as a staff assistant for Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. "He's on the Ways and Means trade suficommittee, and my main area of interest is international trade," says Gerena, who earned a minority leaders fellowship that

initially steps out of the dugout and onto a major league field. Imagine those emotions, and you might understand how a political science major feels about landing a job in the world's most powerful city. "Just being in Washington, D.C., means that you are in a place where history is made every day," says senior Michelle Penate, who last fall became the first student to take advantage of USD's new affiliation with The Wash-

ington Center internship and academic seminar program. "To live, work and study there is the most exciting and valuable experience I could have." Penate spent the fall semester as an intern for the National Crime Prevention Council, just one of the hundreds of non– profit, government and corporate entities in Washington, D.C., that puts students to work each semester. As a program analyst, Penate assessed training needs, facilitated teleconferences with groups dedicated to fighting gang and domestic violence, and researched trends and practices.

pays for housing and an initial leadership seminar. "I'm combining work with a class in global markets." Students who can't be away from Alcala Park for a whole semester needn't miss out, however. Long before USD affil– iated with The Washington Center for semester-long internships, political science professor Mike Stoddard began taking groups to Washington, D.C., for intensive two-week seminars offered during the January and summer breaks. More than 250 students have traveled either to the capital or to the parties' political conven- tions in the past few years, learning about

iiFrom the EPA to the

Brazilian Embas~ to the Smithsonian, the work opportunities are almost limitless. "

-NoelleNorton, USDpolitical science professor

"I learned much more about federal government than I could have at a local internship," says the political science major, who worked about 35 hours a week and attended a class in nonprofit leadership to fulfill the program's academic requirements. "This was the only way to meet key people in Washington and make connections for the future." Precisely why USD chose to affiliate this year with The Washington Center, which professors say is the best program for students who want experience in the field. "We wanted a program that allowed the students to work as much as possible," says political science professor Noelle Norton, who coordinates the program for USD and supervises the inde-

campaigns, the media, inaugurations and the presidency. Stoddard plans four trips in the next year-and-a-half - one each to the party conventions, one to a Campaign 2000 seminar and one to the next presidential inauguration - while Norton says the semester-long program is certain to expand as word gets around among students. "The program puts it all together for the students. They work, take a class and write a paper that applies their knowledge to a larger topic," Norton says. "It's an intense experience, they're given a lot of responsibility, and the knowledge they gain is priceless."

MICHAEL R. HASKINS

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