Gotta get that boom boom pow, or in layman’s terms, we got to save that environment y’all. Mother Earth is the sweetest lady we all know, fact…so why do we do her dirt? Great question, I know. Besides the pun being the second lowest form of humor, environmental issues are real and if you love Mother Earth and like to dabble in Chinese, then we have got something special for you.

It’s called an internship at The Global Environmental Institute (GEI) and it is a Chinese non-profit, non-governmental organization that was established in Beijing, China in 2004. Their mission is to design and implement market-based models for solving environmental problems in order to achieve development that is economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable. GEI is looking for some awesome Middlebury students to join their team.

So why is this jump off so sweet? For a number of reasons, actually. First, if you want to be in China and get a lot better at your Chinese then this is opportunity pretty tubular. Second, you’re not just doing tree hugger stuff but you’re working on how to develop the country both economically and socially while being sustainable to the environment; you’ll get experiences left and right. Lastly but not leastly, you’ll be doing a pretty good thing and you’ll get some sweet and spicy chipotle for that resume. Here’s a little blurb about GEI:

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So who likes to spend summer just on one of the sweetest island on the east coast? I know you beautiful people out there do. Well, if you don’t quite have a job yet for the summer, perhaps you can send our friend Diana and email and inquire about a certain little job that is described below:
We are looking for a mature young person, probably a woman, who can be more or less a “jack of all trades”…it’s a good size property on Martha’s Vineyard, in Chilmark and the job might include the following tasks and these would differ from day to day:

Running errands and doing the shopping
Cleaning the boat periodically ( small boat!)
Light housekeeping (picking up, straightening)
Perhaps some gardening (weeding, picking the vegetable garden, small)
Helping with cooking ( 2-3 nights a week and some lunches..)
Helping with a dinner party, prepping, cleaning, serving
Taking care of the dog if we are gone for a few days, must love dogs!

Basically pretty much anything that comes up, resetting the router, etc! The person in question must be independent and mature. We are 30 minutes from any major town (Vineyard Haven and Edgartown), so having a valid license is important, but it’s mainly a character issue. We want a highly self starting person, generally staying home in the evenings. We certainly don’t demand that, but this is not the kind of job for a young person that wants to party every night! The accommodation is separate from our house which is usually considered a plus, but again, it’s pretty rural and the person in question should be comfortable with that. We are located right on Quitsa Pond, about 30 minutes from the Ferry. A sense of humor is a must and the attitude that no request is too small, silly or “not in my job description” would be a definite plus!

It’s certainly a paid position but we would have to negotiate the amount. Generally the girls buy their own food and prepare meals for themselves but of course have a room, in this case a tiny little cabin with bath.

Well, doesn’t that sound delightful? if it does to you, then email Diana at diana.barrett@gmail.com with a resume and a letter of interest! Do it.

As always, drop ins are from 2-5 PM Monday-Friday. So come in if you got any questions, y’all.

Teach for America? Sounds chill. America, I love America, you probably should too. Teaching? Who wants to do that? There is this notion that “those who can do; those who can’t, teach.”Personally, if you want to know what I really think, I think that misconception is a big pile of junk in the trunk. We get the opportunity to receive an education at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Now, I’m not really one to preach, but here are some stats on education in America:

Educational inequity starts early and gets worse over time.

• By the time they reach fourth grade, children living in low-income communities are already two to three grades behind their higher-income peers.
• Just half of students in low-income communities will graduate high school by age 18. Those who do graduate will perform on average at an eighth-grade level.
• Overall, only 1 in 10 students growing up in poverty will graduate from college.

I’m sure you are moved by those stats, but seriously but who wants to teach? Let’s just make that straight cash homie! Because teachers don’t make anything, right? Well, little did you home skillets know, they actually make a whole lot, they make a difference.

Many of you beautiful people out there have probably heard about this little organization called Teach for America, and if you haven’t, listen up! Teach for America provides a critical source of well-trained teachers who are helping break the cycle of educational inequity. These teachers, called corps members, commit to teach for two years in one of 39 urban and rural regions across the country, going above and beyond traditional expectations to help their students to achieve at high levels. Teach For America corps members and alumni are leading some of the most successful efforts to close the achievement gap in communities nationwide.

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I guess I should do a post on some internships coming up, because this is an internships blog dontchaknow? Well, there are some upcoming deadlines, like today, for opportunities at a pretty cool company called Macquarie Capital. Yes, it is an investment back, but it seems like a pretty chill place, for a bank. They are based in the land down under, Austrailia, and their US presence is getting to be pretty bodacious. I went to an information session for the company in the fall and they told us about their open floor system, and it seeeds sumptuous. What does open floor mean? It probably means as much to you as the DMV lady saying my headlight ticket was “crossed in the mail” so therefore I don’t need to worry about it…right. But anyways, it means that at Macquarie there are no offices. Everyone is on the same floor, interns, first year analysts, VPs and Executives. They can all be sitting next to one another with no overwhelming feeling of hierarchy, sharing fruit salads and chatting about sheep farms (on their break time that is, wink, wink). Bottom line, I think this place, Macquarie, is kind of cool, and the info guy gave us ping pong balls for “ping pong” as a parting gift. So if you are a junior and you are interested in finance, check out these Macquarie opportunities. Also, mind you, these are mostly opportunities for chaps studying abroad right now, but if you are at Club Midd right now, keep your eyes peeled for other Macquarie opportunities:

Macquarie Funds Group Internship Deadline January 12, 2011

Macquarie Capital Summer Internship Deadline January 12, 2011

If you want to find out more about Macquarie, or other sweet upcoming internships, just, you know, drop by the CSO. We got dem drop in urr day from 2-5 PM Monday-Friday. Enjoy the snow why dontcha!

Why the goofy picture? I typed in Macquarie into Google, and yes, that is what came up. It’s awesome.