Feature: Making the Best Even Better
One of the most satisfying experiences of MSU students comes from gaining practical knowledge and skills in overseas placement assignments. These opportunities often result from the hard work of alumni involved with the MSUAA’s international clubs.
Gale Govaere, a junior in James Madison College, for example, had a memorable position last summer in Turkey—a position that resulted from the work of Dr. Cevik Uraz, president of our alumni club in Turkey and a recent winner of the MSUAA’s Distinguished Service Award. “Istanbul is one of the first major cities, outside of the United States, that I have had the pleasure to experience,” recounts Gale, who interned with a historical society in Istanbul this past summer.
“To be perfectly honest, I was a little nervous before I left because Turkey is not a common place for American tourists to visit. Once I arrived, though, I experienced the wonderful hospitality of the Turkish people as everybody I met, friends and strangers, went out of their way to make my five weeks in Istanbul the best imaginable.
“The people are generous, their history is fascinating, and the monuments are breath taking . . . I will definitely return in the near future and bring others to see what I experienced in the summer of 1999.”
Also during the summer of 1999, James Colon and James Sheridan, seniors in James Madison College, interned at a bank in Turkey. This was the first year of this international internship program.
Dr. Uraz, a consummate Spartan who has helped MSU along many fronts, gave critical help to the MSU interns on site—he picked them up at the airport; arranged for excellent housing; oriented them to area facilities and services; introduced them to the sponsoring internship organizations; arranged travel and banking; aided with health and emergency medical needs; and provided them with access to youth groups, social, cultural and recreational events. “Dr. Uraz was also available to help with personal problems, adjustment issues, and general health and well-being of interns,” notes Patrick Scheetz, assistant director of the MSUAA and coordinator of MSU’s international clubs. “In addition, he arranged trips to the seashore and other cultural activities. In the event of an emergency, he was available to communicate with MSU.”
The MSU Office of Study Abroad helps interns with identification of their interests and skills, and coordination of logistics such as housing, travel, visas, etc. In this particular instance, the MSU Alumni Association provided a key linkage. Other key orientation resources include past program participants and MSU Turkish students.
International internships at MSU are only offered for credit, explains Scheetz. Arrangements for international internships are handled by individual MSU colleges and departments, and the number of credits and academic requirements vary by academic unit. Because of the wide range of academic majors pursued by participants, there is no set curriculum. An internship may be structured in a variety of ways, according to the nature of the career field and the sponsoring organization. Students may work on a specified project or assume responsibilities in a single department, or may observe several different areas of a sponsoring organization.
Because of difficulties created by visa requirements, and because of MSU’s desire not to displace local workers, most internships secured through this program will not be paid. “However, local hosts and organizations may help to defray associated costs such as subsidized housing, transportation costs, and/or food expenses,” adds Scheetz.
International alumni club leaders interested in this program can contact Patrick Scheetz
via email (scheetz@msu.edu)
phone (517-355-7698)
fax (517-355-5265).
Also, a web site to post openings is available at http://alumni.msu.edu/internships.