International trade, medicine, public relations

RELEASED: Feb. 17, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—For all Centre College students, the January CentreTerm means personal, in-depth, engaged learning beyond the norm. For those students who choose to complete internships, the CentreTerm experience takes them outside the classroom and into the working world.

Internships are an integral part of the Centre Commitment, which guarantees students an internship, study abroad, and graduation in four years.

The Centre Internship Plus program offers matching grants for selected internships, and offers students a chance to earn extra financial support.
This year, many Centre students had interesting and rewarding internships for CentreTerm. Here, in the second of a two-part series, are a few of their stories.


DAVID CUPERY
Double major: International Studies and Economics
Harbor Beach, Mich.

Describe your internship. Where do you work? What are you doing?
I'm interning in Merida, Mexico, for Pymexporta, a department of the Yucatan state government that focuses on improving the state's exports sector. I guess you could call it the state department of international trade. I'm researching product markets for seafood, honey and habañero peppers in the United States.

What have you found most challenging about your internship?
The fact that Spanish is the only language spoken by the majority of the workers here has been challenging. However, it's also been rewarding as my Spanish is improving everyday.

What have you found most rewarding?
As my time here has progressed I feel I'm growing closer to all the other employees here. They let me in on the office jokes, they invite me to different functions, and they're more willing to devote time to helping me better understand my work. Overall, this is just a reflection of the hospitality of the Mexican people, but each time I come here it's a refreshing feeling. Also, it's rewarding to take the knowledge I've accumulated in my classes at Centre and apply it to a project that could help improve the economic opportunities for the Yucatan population.

How has your Centre experience helped you to prepare for your internship?
My course load at Centre, combined with the personal attention I've received from all my professors, definitely has allowed me to feel like I have something to offer Pymexporta or any employer in the area of international studies/economics. Over my three and a half years at Centre I've been continually challenged by my professors, and now that I'm in a professional setting I can see those challenges paying off. Also, the semester I spent studying in Merida in 2003 helped confirm my interest in international relations and Latin American issues, and allowed me to form the friendships I used to find this internship.

What are your goals after graduation? Will your internship help you meet those goals?
My goal is to eventually work in a setting that allows me to utilize my two majors. I'd like to work in foreign affairs, international service or possibly in international business. It would be great if I found something in one of these areas that involved Latin American affairs. My internship will definitely help me achieve my goals. It's giving me a better understanding of international trade and international relations from a different angle than I could have gotten in the U.S.

Was there a certain person or office at Centre who helped you during the application process to get the internship? A professor or staff member who wrote you a nice letter of recommendation, for example, or pointed you in the right direction?
I found my internship through a Mexican friend. While in Merida for the fall 2003 semester, I played on a soccer team three nights a week, and one of my teammates is the Yucatan sub-secretary for social development. I kept in contact with him after my semester abroad and when I told him I was interested in interning in Merida he contacted Pymexporta and set up the internship. The staff at the College's career services office was very helpful throughout the fall semester and I wouldn't have been able to do this internship financially without Centre Internship Plus [a program that provides students with financial assistance during internships].

Would you like to share any anecdotes about your internship, just plain old funny stories, etc.
Funny stuff happens to me everyday here in Merida. Alan George is also here doing an independent study and the two of us find ourselves to be the brunt of a lot of good-natured jokes just because we stand out so much here. I'm 6 feet 6 inches tall and blond, so I don't look anything like a typical Mexican. It's funny walking down a crowded street and seeing everyone just tilt their head back and stare. A couple of times when we've gone out to clubs here, Mexican girls have stood on stools to dance with me. Once I caught people videotaping me while I was waiting for the bus.

* * *

LISA PURDY
Psychobiology
Villa Hills, KY.

Describe your internship. Where do you work? What are you doing?
I work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington. I mainly shadow the nurses and neonatologists, but I've also been able to get a limited amount of hands-on work. I assist in taking hourly vital signs and feedings, which can be complicated when the baby only weighs two pounds. I've also been able to view c-sections and vaginal deliveries.

What have you found most challenging about your internship?
Knowing that there's not a lot that can be done for many of these babies: most of them are simply premature and need to be under special care while they continue their development out of the womb. Others have respiratory diseases or are jaundiced. These babies simply require medication, oxygen and time. Most of the day is spent observing.

What have you found most rewarding?
The most rewarding part of the experience is watching the looks on the parents' faces when their baby can finally go home. The babies spend anywhere from a couple of days to many weeks in the NICU. When they can be discharged the excitement is felt all over the unit. The experience itself is also rewarding: the sights and sounds I'm able to observe are definitely part of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

How has your Centre experience helped you to prepare for your internship?
My biology classes have given me a better understanding of what's going on with the patients. When a child came into the unit with only one ventricle in his heart, I was able to answer the doctor's questions when he was quizzing me about the effect this had on the baby's blood and body.

What are your goals after graduation? Will your internship help you meet those goals?
I plan on attending medical school. This internship will definitely help with that goal, as experience in the medical field is a high priority for medical schools. It's also helped me to view different fields of medicine and allowed me to form an opinion of these fields.

Was there a certain person or office at Centre who helped you during the application process to get the internship?
Joy Asher in the career services office helped me find a list of possible internships for the semester and Mindy Wilson, also in career services, helped finish the contracts after I had set up the specifics.

Would you like to share any anecdotes about your internship, just plain old funny stories, etc.
There aren't necessarily funny stories, but many that are extremely interesting. For example, one baby born in the unit had both female and male genitalia, and a chromosome test had to be performed to determine which sex the baby was intended to be. Also, as I mentioned above, there was a baby born with only one ventricle; the baby's heart was actually in the shape of a heart. The baby will have to be transported to the University of Kentucky Hospital or Children's Hospital in Cincinnati to undergo a series of heart surgeries. These are just two of the many interesting cases I've seen.

* * *


MEGEAN KINCAID
Double major: English and Dramatic Arts
Louisville, Ky.

Describe your internship. Where do you work? What are you doing?
I'm doing a public relations internship at The Filson Historical Society. The Society collects and preserves the history of our region. I work with those responsible for public relations, publications, education and membership coordination.

What have you found most challenging about your internship?
The schedule is very different from my schedule at school. It's also a much different atmosphere. It requires self-discipline to get the work done.

What have you found most rewarding?
I really enjoy finishing projects, even the tedious ones. It's nice to recount to others what I've accomplished that day. I've enjoyed learning to write and submit press releases.

How has your Centre experience helped you to prepare for your internship?
Centre has shown me the value of a good work ethic. Specifically, I've been prepared through my roles as former PR chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma and as the editor of the Olde Centre Yearbook.

What are your goals after graduation? Will your internship help you meet those goals?
While my goals are certainly not definite, I'm very interested in the publications and public relations fields. My internship is preparing me for just that.

Was there a certain person or office at Centre who helped you during the application process to get the internship?
Mindy Wilson at career services suggested the Filson as a possible internship.

Would you like to share any anecdotes about your internship, just plain old funny stories, etc.
Since the Filson collects history, there are many antiques throughout the house. It's kind of intimidating actually. I didn't really want to touch anything for fear of knocking over a priceless bowl or some very important antique lamp. Also, did you know that Daniel Boone didn't really wear a coonskin cap? There's no historical evidence for that. It's disappointing, really.

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