International Internships Show Students The Ropes On How The World Works

Sophomore Nick Elledge spent part of his summer digging ditches, cleaning chicken coops, hanging drywall and
organizing activities for orphans in Guadalupe, Mexico. Despite the heat and flies, Elledge says the hard work and simple life at the Rancho 3M Christian Orphanage was just what he needed to refocus his priorities.

“I spent my freshman year studying all the time and having superficial relationships,” says Elledge, a President’s Scholar who is majoring in economics, political science and Spanish. “I wanted something real and different.“

The recipient of a Maguire and Irby Family Public Service internship through SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, Elledge is not alone in the quest to broaden his global perspectives. In the past year, about 10 percent of SMU’s undergraduate students took advantage of the University’s education abroad programs, overseas internships and global research projects.

These children at Rancho 3M Christian Orphanage in Mexico are among those Nick Elledge worked with last summer.

Many students say they pursue opportunities to travel to learn about other cultures, but most wind up gaining much more from these life-changing experiences.

“One of the first things we hear from the students is that the internships opened their eyes to another part of the world and a different way of life,” says Tom Mayo, director of the Maguire Center, which has awarded stipends for domestic and international internships to more than 90 students over the past 12 years.

“The second thing is that very often the work they do as volunteers either ties into or underscores some real-world aspect of their academic studies,” he says. “And third, they are much more informed. They have a mature take on the way the world works and they come back with some pretty firm opinions about how the host organizations work and what some of the hurdles are for effecting change.“

No Borders

When sophomore Tara Hemphill heard that Southlake-based Sabre Holdings Corp., a technology travel solutions provider, was interviewing for internships in Poland, she at first thought that Eastern Europe was a little far to travel for a summer job. But the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in her area of study – computer science and math – won her over. Hemphill was chosen as one of five SMU engineering students to work at Sabre’s European Solutions Center in Krakow, Poland.

The eight-week stint proved priceless. Navigating the public transportation system and living in the center of the bustling city filled with history and art “opened up new things to me,” she says. “It’s a lot different from a vacation because you are living and working there.“

Another Sabre intern, sophomore computer engineering major Austin Click, says that he appreciated the opportunity to work on projects alongside other company employees, but is especially pleased that Sabre is using some of the code he wrote.

“I never considered working out of the country before, but it was a great experience and I would consider it now,” Click says. “The way my field is going, it’s good to have international experience in a country like Poland, where the IT industry is exploding.“

The technology community knows no borders, says Tom Klein, group president of Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions, which partnered with SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering. The internships allow the students to work with software developers and project managers and witness firsthand the issues facing the global travel industry, he says.

Kathy M. Hubbard, director of SMU’s Center for Engineering Leadership, says she wishes every engineering and technology student could have a similar international experience. “We are living in such a global society, and our students are going to encounter companies having operations in the United States and abroad. Companies are finding it important that their employees have international experience, especially if they are going to move into leadership roles.”

An internship at a real estate investment firm in Dubai this past summer likely will give senior finance major Mohammed Nagda a competitive boost in the financial field, setting him apart when it comes time to finding a job, he says. “I wanted to work in a dynamic international market and get experience in an actual financial field.”

He arranged the internship himself and stayed with a brother living in Dubai. On the second day of the job, Nagda was assigned three projects and immersed in the culture of long hours. He observed people of many nationalities interacting with each other, from British businessmen to a Lebanese man who always lit incense on the boardroom table during meetings.

Roycee Kerr, director of Cox B.B.A. Career Services, encourages students to plan well in advance for international internships or study abroad programs. “If their dreams are to work with a global company that does business in China, which a lot of Cox students want to do, then the ideal thing would be a summer internship in Shanghai,” she says. “It’s never too early to start thinking about a timeline and understanding what is required to be a good candidate.” Both Cox B.B.A. Career Services and the Hegi Family Career Development Center provide services that help students learn how to locate international opportunities and to successfully pursue internships.

London Calling…click here to read more of this story.