Learning in a foreign country can be difficult, but it can also be fun, and Ball State University students can benefit through study abroad and internship programs offered by the university and outside sources.
Jill McKinney, Study Abroad and Exchange Programs director, said international internships through Ball State will be available for the first time this summer. Her staff will assist students in finding internships in London.
"Students will be able to describe what type of internship they are hoping for, and our staff in London will connect students with appropriate ones," she said.
Despite not offering an internship until this summer, McKinney said she has helped more than 600 students study abroad annually in more than 40 places and felt it has helped students.
"The primary benefits are that students are immersed in a new culture which allows for an expansion of world view, an independence and confidence in traveling, and an excellent resum+â-¬ boost," she said.
McKinney said that students can study abroad for three to six weeks during the summer, for a semester or a full year.
Outside of Ball State, University of Dreams is an independent program that helps students around the world get an internship.
Through the program, junior fashion merchandise major Rachel Esterday traveled to London for an internship last summer.
"I went to London with an interest in photography and ended up working for an online photography gallery called the Peeled Eye Shop, where my main job was dealing with marketing," she said. "It was a great experience, and so I`m actually trying to go back and work as a staff member for them."
Esterday, who said she was one of the first in the program to go to London, was happy with how they treated her.
"All the staff members were on top of things. I was nervous at first, but then I got there and my worries were gone," she said. "They took care of housing, meals, transportation, everything."
"Finding an internship can be hard, but it doesn't have to be," Esterday said.
"The University of Dreams program makes it easy," she said. "You apply online, talk to a placement agent about what you want, and they work their butt off to find you an internship."
Along with foreign internships, University of Dreams also has opportunities in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Senior finance and economics major Allison Hluchota benefitted from the program's U.S. internships last summer by working in a financial planner's office.
"I did my internship in Chicago and I would say the best part of it was working in a professional environment where I was able to network and help myself for the future," she said.
University of Dreams is a world-wide program, but there are representatives available at Ball State and other universities.
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