London Calling
Spending six weeks in the SMU-in-London program, exploring the city’s culture and diversity, may not sound like work. But sleep took a back seat this summer when 48 students and five SMU faculty members used London as a classroom.
Students took six credit hours in communications topics as varied as the history and philosophy of free speech, advertising and British cinema. Living at Regent’s College during the week, the SMU group traveled throughout the United Kingdom and Europe on the weekends.
In addition to coursework, a number of students held internships in London at human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Pants to Poverty and Save the Children.
Although they discovered that the British arguably speak the same language, they realized that is where the similarities end. Londoners ride the Tube, use a different currency, are more immersed in international news and politics, and view Americans through different lenses.
SMU students explore London from a double-decker bus.
Hendrika Rhoad, a junior majoring in corporate communications and public affairs and marketing, says cultural differences in the workplace, such as British humor and jargon, took some getting used to, but her work with Save the Children and the Child Rights Information Network was both eye-opening and inspiring.
“Working with another culture gave me a lot of confidence,” Rhoad says. “It was difficult, but I learned a lot of patience. I didn’t have friends there, so I had to work my way up with everyone, and projects took a lot longer than I thought they would. It allowed me to focus on particular children’s rights issues and made me more aware of it all. I love the nonprofit sector.”
Senior Katie Reynolds, who worked for Mencap, a nonprofit that helps individuals with learning disabilities, saw the full effect of her organization’s lobbying efforts before Parliament. “My organization had a big breakthrough while I was there. The disabled were not receiving adequate medical care, and my organization lobbied and got the policies changed,” says Reynolds, a corporate communications and public affairs major.
Such experiences make indelible impressions on students and shape their views on future employment, says Rita Kirk, professor of corporate communications and public affairs who taught in the SMU-in-London program.
“It makes a difference in their outlook toward the rest of the world and gives them a sense of purpose that maybe they didn’t have before,” she says.</p.
Full Circle
While working in the Mexican orphanage, Elledge was impressed with its employees, who devote their lives to serving others in need. Back in Dallas, he plans to tutor English as a Second Language students and work with the homeless downtown. He says he tries to follow Albert Einstein’s words: “Strive not to be
a success, but rather to be of value.”
“My experiences have changed my thinking about jobs and employment,” he says. “I thought about going to law school, but now there are a lot of alternatives I never considered before.”
– Karen Nielsen
Nina Flournoy, senior lecturer in Corporate Communications & Public Affairs and director of SMU-In-London, and her husband, Craig, assistant professor of journalism, were with the London program last summer when a family crisis developed and the SMU community rallied to help. Click here to read their story.