Nazareth in the World
Jessica Wojcinski posing with a class at a school where she's interning in Valencia
International Interns
Students gain global mindsets along with career skills
by Chris Farnum
Quinton Harvey 鈥15 wants to be a musicologist and further develop as a classically trained vocalist. His fall 2013 internship with a music society during a semester in Berlin showed him he can do it 鈥 even in German. 鈥淚 was able to hold my own,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he whole experience boosted my confidence completely. I鈥檓 much more open to trying new things.鈥
Annemarie Tiburzi 鈥12 learned a lot from her marketing internship at a language school in Valencia, Spain. 鈥淭he internship was an聽unforgettable, unique, and helpful experience. I gained confidence, and also it assisted me with landing other work both domestically and abroad,鈥 says Tiburzi, an international business major who now teaches English in Madrid city schools.
In addition to confidence, connections, and language skills, interning internationally provides work experience, cultural insights, and global perspective.
Nazareth is one of the only colleges nationwide to require experiential learning for all students as part of its revamped core curriculum, and internships are one way to meet that goal. Many of Nazareth鈥檚 academic programs require 120-hour, for-credit internships. Even in majors that don鈥檛, students see the benefits of real-world engagement.
The Nazareth-in-Berlin semester program includes four-week, full-time internships after coursework is completed. Nazareth鈥檚 programs in Pescara (Italy), Valencia (Spain), and Rennes (France) offer part-time, semester-long internships suited to various majors/interests. The combination of language immersion, classwork, and career development provides a comprehensive study-abroad semester, says George Eisen, Ph.D., executive director of Nazareth鈥檚 Center for International Education and associate vice president for academic affairs. 鈥淚n order to be competitive, you have to learn the culture of the workplace.鈥
Employers want college graduates who can be flexible, adapt to change, work independently, and communicate well, says Emily Carpenter, internship director for Nazareth. 鈥淐ompanies and organizations increasingly work internationally, so they need employees who can speak more than one language, understand the perspectives of others, and relate to different cultures, religions, government structures, and global issues.鈥
In Berlin, Karla Jackson 鈥13 helped with social media at Sirius Facilities, creator of more than 30 business parks, and improved the English wording of slide shows that had been translated badly from German to English. A workshop on Google adwords sparked her interest and provided knowledge that led to her current job as digital marketing coordinator at FireHost, a secure cloud hosting company in Richardson, Texas.
鈥淟earning about adwords in Germany helped me figure out what I want to do as a profession,鈥 says Jackson, who works to optimize keyword selection so her company pays only for the best-match clicks to its website.
Devin Kelly 鈥13 had such a great internship in Leeds, England, that she ended up getting a job there. The sociology major with a minor in community youth development is a youth support worker for both Leeds City Council and for a charity called Getaway Girls, where she interned in fall 2012.
Jessica Wojcinski '15, who is interning at a Catholic school in Valencia in spring 2014, has found laid-back attitudes about time in Spain. Meetings often start 15 to 30 minutes late and she is given a lot of freedom rather than deadlines, structure, or requests for updates.
Knowing about cultural differences eases work interactions, says Wojcinski. 鈥淚f you are aware of the basics of what other cultures find normal, it鈥檚 just as easy to interact with someone from another culture as it is to interact with someone from your own.鈥
Chris Farnum is the content writer and editor in Nazareth鈥檚 marketing department.
Tips for Interns Abroad
On adventure:
Karla Jackson 鈥13 said stepping out of her comfort zone by studying and interning in Germany when she didn鈥檛 speak the language opened her up to handling other life challenges. 鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid to make life-changing decisions, or immerse myself in a new culture, location, or group of people,鈥 she says.
On language:
Some programs offer coursework in English. But do take advantage of Nazareth鈥檚 language courses, language lab, and online language-prep programs before you go for a richer experience overseas. Annemarie Tiburzi 鈥12 now speaks Spanish well. But her ability was low in 2011 when she studied in Spain. 鈥淚f my Spanish were better, I would have been able to choose my own internship.鈥
On being hesitant:
鈥淚 would say to someone hesitant about interning or going abroad that you need to do it, you will look back and realize how that experience changed your life, your perspective, and gave you incredible memories,鈥 says Tiburzi, who hadn鈥檛 been outside the U.S. for an extended period before studying abroad. Now she lives and works in Madrid, Spain. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not as scary or as difficult as it seems. There is always a way to handle any problems or struggles. You鈥檙e surrounded by people who are going through the same experience as you, and this creates an instant bond.鈥
On connections:
Devin Kelly 鈥13 said all her experiences abroad were strengthened by the good connections her professors had with the coordinators overseas. Marie Watkins 鈥73, Ph.D., director of Nazareth鈥檚 community youth development program, had built relationships with tutors in the youth work program in Leeds, 鈥渢o ensure I was well supervised and placed in two centers that would offer me different yet equally rewarding and challenging youth work experiences,鈥 Kelly says.
More about Nazareth's internship program.
Quinton Harvey, second from right, and friends outside the dome at the Reichstag in Berlin.