support the MiddACTION Fund with the Senior Class Gift!

(Well, yes, they also voted in the presidential election.)

This Class of 2013 and 2013.5 MiddACTION Fund will support internship and research funding for Middlebury students.  EIA is very excited that the class of 2013 and 2013.5 has chosen to support experiential learning with this gift, and that seniors have voiced their support for the importance of experiential learning in the context of their liberal arts education.

To learn more about experiential learning at EIA, and the myriad possibilities available for civic engagement, research and internships, check out go/eia.

To find an internship of your own, whether it’s for Winter Term or next summer, visit MOJO today!

“In Their Own Words” is an ongoing series featuring the experiences of Middlebury students at their summer internships. This summer Esme Lutz ’12.5 interned with the Rehwa Society in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, India.

What did you do?

My project focuses on the Rehwa Society, an Indian nonprofit organization established in 1978 dually to promote a regional craft and provide employment specifically for women. Before traveling to India, I conducted research using many of Middlebury’s online resources in order to deepen my understanding of Indian culture and gender relations. I planned to compile a photographic documentary—using images combined with text to illustrate Rehwa’s story to a viewer—and thus spent my time in India observing the weaving process, interviewing key figures associated with the organization, photographing a variety of individuals and objects, as well as traveling to a few different workshops to compare and contrast the methods utilized there. Now near returning back to school, I am in the midst of collating the materials I collected in the way I described in my proposal (with a few small additions): composing an article to publish in a campus magazine, working with curators to exhibit the images I took at Middlebury, sharing the pictures with Rehwa to be used in a promotional “look book,” submitting written material to Rehwa to include in a future application to UNESCO to become a living heritage site, and displaying the photographs publicly via the web.

What did you learn?

My experience was not easy: I was living alone, in a small town in a rural area, unable to speak a difficult-to-just-pick-up language in a country with drastically different from the one in which I had spent most of my life. While at times being in Maheshwar was incredibly enchanting and filled me with an effusive sense of love for the world around me, at other it was exhausting, lonely, and incredibly frustrating. This being said, besides  the factual knowledge I gained, the benefits of interacting with people whose lives are very different from my own, of encountering norms and problems unfamiliar in my home environment, and of pushing myself into a situation in which I initially felt very uncomfortable, are undeniable.

What are your plans for the future?

As my studies wind to a close (in February) and I think increasingly about my next motions, my experience in India will definitely register strongly in my mind when considering characteristics I desire in a career. It was incredible to encounter people with different circumstance and background, to push myself further into situations that were momentarily uncomfortable, and to have an expanse of time to think critically about a single subject. My interests have definitely taken a more international focus, and I hope to, in part, address the fundamental challenges I observed firsthand while in Maheshwar.

Think this experience sounded pretty cool? Check out opportunities like this and more on MOJO.

The deadlines for some awesome internships for fall and winter term are quickly approaching – head to MOJO today to apply for these great opportunities. Deadline is this Friday, October 12.

Passionate about global health? Research? Apply to be a…

• Roots of Health Development and Media Intern: Roots of Health (Ugat ng Kalusugan) is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of women and girls, and their communities, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, in the Philippines. You will be based in the United States and will assist Roots of Health with internet-based research, generating an online presence using social media and with the preparation of grant applications. (Winter Term)

Interested in marketing? Sustainability? Apply to be a…

• NativeEnergy Marketing Intern: Founded in Vermont in 2000, NativeEnergy is an expert provider of carbon offsets, renewable energy credits, and carbon accounting software.  You will assist with public relations activities, including traditional and social media outreach. You will develop and execute social media campaigns, write blogs and other content, conduct market research, help plan and organize events, and assist with other marketing-­‐related activities as needed. (Fall term)

Planning to go into medicine?  Apply to be a…

• Porter Hospital Intern: You will have the opportunity to see what life might look like if you choose a career in medicine. You will work out a schedule with your assigned physician preceptor  for you to shadow the physician based on the physician’s work schedule and your availability. You’ll also get to go on rotations in other departments, such as surgery, emergency care, radiology and labor and delivery. (Winter Term)

Love social media?  Apply to be a…

• Kelliher Samets Volk Media Intern: You will learn how to evaluate media vendors, target specific markets and much more. You will work with the PR team and manage client clip books, support and maximize press opportunities. On a daily basis, you’ll help the PR team track and document media coverage. You’ll manage alerts and create weekly/monthly digests. Dive in and draft PR materials and help manage KSV’s online community. (Winter Term)

Looking to brighten your mind and research with Doc Roberts? If you like the smell of science and are majoring in one of its super duper fields, then perhaps you should dabble with a research opportunity this summer with the man Dr. Daniel M. Roberts himself at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in “Sensing and Signaling.”

Check out the rhyme:

Summer 2010 Research Opportunity

For Undergrads

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Opportunity:  Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates
Theme:  Sensing and Signaling
Dates:  June 7 through July 30
Benefits:  $3200 stipend, housing, insurance and travel allowance
Contact:  Dr. Daniel M. Roberts, PhD (drobert2@utk.edu)

Program Information

The aim of this program is to provide research experiences for undergraduate students majoring in the sciences with an introduction to cutting edge research in the broad area of “Sensing and Signaling”. The team of REU investigators represents a multidisciplinary ensemble of Cell Biologists, Geneticists, Biochemists, and Biophysicists who are taking modern approaches to the analysis of how signals are perceived and transduced in myriad biological systems.

Application Information

This opportunity is available to Freshman, Sophomore and Junior undergraduate science majors. REU Fellowships will be awarded to qualified students on a competitive basis. Each Fellowship will include a $3,200 stipend as well as an allowance for cost of living, travel, and research supplies. To be considered, applicants should complete the online application form available at the link below, and should arrange to have two letters of recommendation and a college transcript sent to:

http://web.bio.utk.edu/bcmb/reu/index.shtml

Applications will be reviewed as they are received but should be completed and submitted by

Monday, March 29, 2010 Wednesday, April 7, 2010

*This opportunity is also posted on LACN