Name: Laurence Fischer
Home Institution: London School of Economics
Major: International Relations

“As a student of International Relations, I don’t think there are many other internships, if any at all, that would have given me the chance to work, study and earn in a field directly related to my degree. Not only that, I was given almost total freedom to work on whatever project I could come up with that was both interesting to me and relevant to the department I worked for. As a result, I wrote a report on the two areas that interest me most in nonproliferation –the potential replacement of the UK’s nuclear weapons, and the political implications of Israeli WMDs in the Middle East. No photocopying, no making coffee for my boss, just ten weeks of solid, interesting (and paid!) research in a totally relaxed environment. Perfect summer work.

As the CNS itself, it is located in an area of Central California with plenty of potential for exploring. Although Monterey itself can be a little bit quiet for those of us used to big city life, the huge and amazing cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles are there to be explored on weekends. Even better for me was the absolutely stunning Big Sur coastline and the weekly sailing around Monterey Bay. In other words, there is something for everyone with a little energy and initiative.”