My Grinnell in Washington Internship Defined my Career Goals! Past Review
By Joshua W (Political Science, Grinnell College) for
Grinnell College: Washington - Grinnell in Washington
See "words of wisdom." GIW is all about the internship. Research your options and choose somewhere where you can get as much mentoring and have as much individual time with legitimate professionals in the area you are considering for your career. The thinktank I interned at paired each intern individually with two scholars. That meant I had NO competition. Everything I did well they saw and reacted to. Don't worry about trying to schmooze with all of the alumni (admittedly this did work well for some of the other students). Find people who your working for and stand out.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was pretty fair. It tended to be busy because we had internship four days a week eight hours a day and nine hours of class every week. That said, professors tended to be sensitive to our schedule and assigned moderate levels of reading and provided plenty of time to work on papers/exams. Also, the program allows time free of internship at the end, which permits students to finish their term papers without too much stress. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
WII did not get that involved. That said, classroom facilities and instruction they did provide was good. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I stayed with my aunt and uncle who live in the DC area. If you are getting an apartment or something, keep in mind that transportation can be a pain. DC public transit is good, but very expensive (it gets more expensive the farther out you go). |
| * Food: |
You are on your own for food. The dorm most of the kids stayed in is apartment style. Rooms have a kitchenet. Don't spend too much money at Chipotle :) |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program provides weekly lunches with DC-based Grinnell alums. These could be tedious (sandwiched between two three hour classes. But the ppl who met with us usually had really interesting life experiences and good advice for us going forward. The program also included several plays and lots of tours of government buildings. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The key to this program (what will make it a rewarding or an empty experience) is the internship. Hopefully you will find an internship in an area that you are strongly considering going into after graduation (for me this was a Thinktank, because I am thinking about becoming a professor). At the internship site, the most important thing (based on my experience) is to find "one" important person who you are working for/with and make as good of an impression on said person as you can. The connection that I made at my internship changed my graduate plans and has provided me with multiple opportunities since. I am still connected with the scholar I interned for, and hope to go to grad school with her as my advisor. |
