_ AGGIE LIFE
jfedni-Ml;!>. April 19,2000 THE BATTALION Page 3
Getting a Jump start through
BY MATT MCCORMICK
The Battalion
life*.
While the image of interns was tainted by certain
yvet)is that happened in the White House, most in-
ernships offer students more than 15 minutes of
amt — most offer a lifetime of experience packed
n to lone summer.
Internships give students a chance to get real world
Experience, and therefore are one of the most valuable
jjxpei icnces a student can have during college.
liuernships are programs in which a student
vorks for a period of time and may receive college
credit for their service. The student is responsible for
iilfilling a number of requirements to earn credit.
Texas A&M students have interned everywhere
roni Dreamworks Pictures to the FBI.
§ Some colleges on campus strongly encourage in-
Hships for their students.
>tuart vilunueva ‘‘An internship gives meaning to a student’s stud-
> her w ork after-- es > ’ sa '^ ^ r - Chris Townsend, a professor in the De-
’ G country selfc ,arlment Agricultural Education. “It exposes stu-
•\ ignt CenterEe : ^ enls to a different environment and gives a student
■ from the Univers' ‘elvant work experience.”
us said that the Uni, ady Auckerman, a senior agricultural develop-
keep campus off Tieih major, is participating in a congressional in-
:etn$hip this-summer. She will work with Congress
man Larry Combest in Washington, D.C.
BShe will be paid a salary and receive a small
scholarship through the Department of Agriculture
Iication which will allow her to live in Washing-
Radio Club ThPrPwillhr;*’ D ' C -’ during the imernshi P-
•fil by a tour of the sta' dut ' es f° r Combest will include clerical du-
( ,, . „ t Sampath Sani6'-*f' ^ ut s * ie w '^ a * so a *' , ' e to attend congression-
allommittee meetings.
will be doing a lot of correspondence with con-
ii i Rudder 704 at 8:30p" s tfuents who write in with concerns. I will also be
n contact Marie at 847-0?. ; going to Agricultural] Committee meetings and do
ing a lot of research on issues that are before the
is: Lore will be ageners rcommittee,” Auckerman said. “It will give me the
>t speaker Gil Guilloiy Litej c |i nce t 0 experience firsthand the workings of our
government.”
â–  She said her experience and knowledge of agri
culture helped her to obtain the internship,
a Fellowship of InterVaisihlfi Ann Leslie ’ a graduate student in the College of
•ad IVCF): GradstudentE - A b r ' cu ^ ure an< ^ Life Sciences, had an internship
dudy,pi,her,fellowship.atrfwith the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. She di-
'bsite at httpy/Stattamur.’ ractly worked with a number of European nations and was also able to travel ex-
, it ions arid more informal', tejnsively through the continent.
-1552. Giy ? I “Itwasa life changing experience,” Leslie said. “I never thought I would want
Rep. #8 in Rudder 501 a:';
Thursday
Programs offer real-world experience to students
to be involved with international development until this program. Afterward, 1
knew for sure that I wanted to do that.
“It also opened a lot of doors. As a direct result of this program, after I grad
uate in May, I will be going to Indonesia for four
months.”
In addition to the work experience, Leslie had the
opportunity to travel to several countries “for the fun
of it.”
“I got to travel and see a lot of Europe. I was over
there for 10 weeks, and for six of the weekends, I
would take a night train and [got to] go to other coun
tries. It was really neat; I would go to sleep on the train
and then wake up in a new country.”
Cody Taylor, a senior journalism major, interned
during the summer of 1998 with the marketing de
partment at Dreamworks when the movie studio was
releasing Saving Private Ryan.
“I got to do a lot of the typical internship stuff, like
Xerox all day — mundane, boring things,” he said. “But
that was balanced out when I got to escort [Tom] Han
ks and [Tom] Sizemore to interviews ....”
Taylor said the internship offered more than experi
ence and gave him the opportunity to witness one par
ticularly memorable moment.
“I got to see Hanks walk in on a wedding at a hotel.
It was pretty funny because [when he walked in] he
started-singing the divorce song.”
Internships are excellent opportunities for Aggies to
see areas of the world formerly off-limits, as well as
gain insight into their career options.
Not only do internships provide memorable experi
ences, they can also help students with their job search
ing after graduation.
“A very high percentage of students in our depart
ment who participate in internships go to work for the
company they interned with,” said Dr. Kerry Litzen-
berg, professor and associate department head for the
agricultural economics department.
“If they do not work for them, they usually at least
get job offers.”
Internships can also have an influence on the salary
of a recent graduate.
“A lot of firms are able to have some flexibility as
far as what they can offer in starting salaries,” Litzen-
berg said.
An average salary can vary between $3,000 and
$5,000 more for the student with a positive internship
experience.
Some advisers caution that internships are not for
everyone; however, for those students willing to work,
it is an asset.
Any student interested in pursuing internships should contact their depart
ment adviser.
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