In a down economy, internships and summer research projects are touted as a great way for college students to gain valuable “real world” experience in order to get a leg up in the job hunt. But what about the student who can’t afford to work for free?
“I definitely would have had a hard time doing an internship without any compensation,” admits Alexandria Bannerman ’09. Through one of her sociology professors, Alexandria learned of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) in Los Angeles, which provides traditional legal services and civil rights advocacy for Asian and other immigrant clients. The stars aligned when, in spring 2009, Alexandria received an offer for an internship with APALC — usually reserved for law school students — and she was named one of seven winners of an Esterly Award, which offered $1,000 to help cover her expenses.
The only Spanish speaker in APALC’s office, Alexandria was called upon to translate legal language for Spanish-speaking clients as well as answer hotline questions and conduct interviews in Spanish and English. The experience was “intense,” according to Alexandria, not the least because it involved a 40-hour work week and a commute that averaged 2 hours daily (or, 6 hours when the parade for the NBA championship Lakers struck).
While her internship left her “still passionate about the law,” Alexandria’s senior thesis research actually convinced her not to apply to law school after graduation. Her thesis focused on lawyers and their culture, and Alexandria found that “satisfaction with the work/life balance among lawyers is quite low. Also, the job market is really tough for lawyers right now.” Instead, Alexandria is exploring the field of human factors engineering, which piqued her interest in the course of her thesis research.
While internships offer one type of educational summer experience, some students want … a little more dirt under their fingernails. Junior Summer Olsen ’11, a double major in anthropology and music, won a 2009 Esterly Award for $1,250 to participate in excavating a Mayan site in Belize through a joint program with UCLA and the National Institute of Culture and History in Belize.
“The highlight of my experience,” Summer relates, “was having class on top of Maya pyramids in Xuantunich. It was so inspiring and fascinating to be listening to a lecture about the people whose gigantic structure you were sitting on. It was a bit like story time but more vivid because you could see the places where the characters walked… and they were real, not imaginary.”
In Argentina on a study abroad program for spring 2010, Summer took archeology and music classes in Buenos Aires. The opportunity to expand her learning outside of the classroom through her archaeological experience in Belize, though, was invaluable in enriching her academic study of human evolution, material culture, and prehistory. “It was a mind-opening experience to see firsthand the grandeur of the structures created by prehistoric societies and see the descendants of these societies in the modern world.”
In 2009, Scripps awarded seven Esterly Awards, for a total of $7,000, funding students who pursued internships (in Prague, Los Angeles, and San Diego), university lab work at the University of Washington, and travel/study programs in Belize, Mexico, and New York. Established in 1949 in memory of the former assistant to the president at Scripps by gifts from former students, colleagues and friends, the Virginia Judy Esterly awards are granted to students who combine the qualities of good scholarship, effective service in student activities and responsible citizenship for worthwhile educational summer projects.