PrincetonUniversity
 

International internships open new world for Princeton students

by Karin Dienst
Overseas travel is on the itinerary for many Princeton students during their undergraduate careers. But some students take their travels an extra mile by combining them with public service internships.

According to the students who recently did both, working to make a difference really can make an imprint on their lives.

Forty-nine Princeton undergraduates spent the past summer pursuing internships supported by Princeton's International Internship Program (IIP). Established in 2001, the fledgling program enables students to work for up to eight weeks with a variety of organizations around the world. IIP emphasizes opportunities in the fields of education, health services, human rights and sustainable agriculture.

According to Elena Uribe, director of the program, IIP is distinctive compared to what most universities offer in that it helps students seek placements and provides funding, on average $2,000 to $2,500 per student. A goal is to support students even more by increasing institutional funding; currently IIP is backed financially by the Program in Latin American Studies, the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, the Pace Center for Community Service and the Office of Religious Life.

"Working closely with the Study Abroad Program, IIP ensures internationalism as a part of undergraduate education at Princeton," said Uribe. "In many cases, the internship changes the way students think about their majors and offers ideas for their senior theses and careers."

IIP also is collaborating with the Princeton in Africa and Princeton in Asia programs to create new summer initiatives. Through various academic departments, undergraduates also can arrange paid summer programs, such as the German Summer Work Program, Princeton in France and the Ishikawa internships in Japan.

Building on her own international experience after 18 years with the Mexican foreign service, Uribe continually explores and vets new possibilities for students, paying close attention to the evaluations funded students complete upon their return to campus.

Read the full story in the Weekly Bulletin.

Sun-Kyung Cho, a senior majoring in economics, was an intern last summer with the Economics Section of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. Cho, pictured in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, worked with a labor officer on a wide range of issues, which included visits to factories. The experience was so profound that Cho changed the focus of her senior thesis to a more labor-related topic.

photo courtesy of Sun-Kyung Cho