Page 12 ● Thursday, September 7, 2006 Thursday, September 7, 2006 ● Page 13

Colby PierceSpecial Projects Editor

Students make the most of summerSummertime—a chance to kick back,

relax and enjoy some down time with-out any major worries or critical duedates. A time when students can workto make a decent amount of money thathelps for extra spending during theschool year. Mostly, summer is a timewhen students are able to wipe theirslate clean and get ready to come backto school to take classes and seefriends again.

Some students took summer break asan opportunity to go abroad, see newsights and understand what it is like tobe a visitor in a different culture andplace. This experience is vital for anycollege student to help spread theirwings and know about cultures otherthan their own.

Elon has a well-known study abroadprogram that sends students aroundthe world throughout the year. Sevenprograms were offered over the sum-mer, allowing students the chance tonot only gain credits, but to completetheir credits abroad for an opportunityof a lifetime. Students traveled toMexico, Spain, France, Italy, London,Brighton and Herstmonceux Castle,England. A new domestic course inAlaska was offered for the first time.

The students who went to Londonwere offered internships specific totheir major at locations around the city,while also experiencing the rich andnumerous cultures of such a historicalcity. Internships lasted five and a halfweeks, allowing plenty of time for stu-dents to see all the sights and do allthey wanted.

Senior Alana Dunn took the GreatWar course during Winter Term 2005and fell in love with London during hershort stay there.

“I have been to England, IrelandBelgium, Germany, France, Hollandand Italy, and out of all of the places Iwent, I wanted to get back to Londonthe most,” Dunn said. “I learned aboutElon’s summer internship programduring the beginning of last fall andapplied months in advance because Iwas so excited about going back toLondon. I love the city—I love howbig it is, the transportation system, theatmosphere, the charm, the architec-ture, the diversity, how old everythingis and all the history.”

Dunn enjoyed a great work experi-ence during her internship at theFoundation for InternationalEducation. FIE is a study abroadprovider in London that provide col-leges, universities and other institu-tions with tailor-made study and internabroad programs.

“I worked in FIE’s internship office,which places more than 1,000 studentsin internships each year,” Dunn said. “Iresearched other programs andproviders, volunteer opportunities andservice-learning modules; interviewedFIE students and wrote an article abouttheir internship experiences,researched information on obtainingbackground or police checks, workedwith bibliographic software and com-piled information for potential newinternship placements and contactedthem as well.”

Not only did Dunn get a profession-al experience, she got to know her co-

workers on a personal level and feellike she was part of the team.

“Everyone made me feel welcome,included and appreciated,” Dunn said.“No one treated me like a lesser personor ‘just an intern.’ I was extremelyimpressed even during my initial inter-view because my supervisor alreadyhad an outline of the projects I wouldbe working on. I was pleased to seethat they took me seriously and didn’thave me there only to make tea. I hadreal responsibilities and people wereimpressed with my work. They invitedme to the chairwoman’s annual recep-tion, gave me a ticket to see ‘Stomp!,’included me in field trips to culturaland historic sights in London and eventook me out for drinks on my last day.I absolutely loved my work and every-one I worked with.”

Dunn now wants to pursue workingthere after she graduates. She isalready looking into a BritishUniversities North America Club(BUNAC) visa, a six-month work visathat allows American university stu-dents and recent graduates to work inthe United Kingdom.

“After I graduate, I hope to work foran international education or studyabroad provider, or in an institution’sstudy abroad office,” Dunn said. “Iplan to keep in touch with my supervi-sor from FIE and she promised to keepme apprised of job opportunities at FIEand with other providers.”

A trip to Alaska was the newest sum-mer trip students could go on to gaincredits. It is the only summer abroadtrip offered that is actually to a state inthe United States, but Alaska could be

considered ‘going abroad’ since it is sofar removed from the continental U.S.The actual class begins and finishes oncampus, although students spend 14days in Alaska hiking and canoeing.

Sophomore Ivy Crank had wanted togo to Alaska since she was in the fifthgrade, when her older brother visitedAlaska with her father and grandfather.

“I heard from family and friends thatAlaska is a beautiful place and I wasreally excited about the possibility ofseeing wildlife—bears, whales, mooseand wolves—wildflowers, mountainsand glaciers,” Crank said. “When I was10, my family rented an RV and droveout West for two weeks and visitedseveral national parks, landmarks andother points of interest along the way.Through family vacations and travel Ihad visited every state in the UnitedStates except for Alaska—now I’veseen them all.”

“Wherever we went, there weremountains in the background; it wasbeautiful,” Crank said. “We fell asleepto a river rushing by our tents, climbeda mountain while watching a cloudpass through a valley and sat on a rockin the ocean while watching a baldeagle perched nearby.”

Some students chose to travel abroadthis summer, just for fun. The summerpresents a great time to do this becauseschool is not in session. There are noworries about missing anything impor-tant or having work to make up.

Junior Joelle Dent traveled to Turkeyfor six weeks this summer. She cameacross the oppotunity to travel andwork there through a friend who hadgone to Turkey last summer and talkedabout how gorgeous it was. Whilethere, Dent was a nanny for a 12-year-old girl named Tayga Gedik.

“I did not know anything aboutTurkey before I went there, which was ashame,” Dent said. “I expected to learna lot about a brand new culture and seea lot of historical sites and try a lot ofnew good food and become friends withthe family I was staying with.”

Dent hung out with Gedik during allher waking hours; they spent relaxingdays together.

“We would wake up, eat breakfastand watch one or two televisionshows,” Dent said. “They have a lot of

American comedy shows in Turkey sowe watched ‘Spin City’ and ‘Will &Grace.’ Then we would go swimmingin the afternoon or visit a historicalplace like the Blue Mosque or TopkapiPalace. In the evenings, we would playboard games and I learned someTurkish card games. Then we wouldusually go out to dinner and I was ableto try a lot of Turkish foods.”

Students took advantage of the sum-mer to gain real world experienceworking at an internship while athome. Internships are not only a greatway to build a resume, but it also setsstudents apart with more skills andknowledge aside from only takingclasses at Elon.

Senior Jackie Lewis interned over thesummer at an event planning companycalled Entertainment Design Group inAustell, Ga., just outside of Atlanta.

“I was lucky to find my internshipbecause the owners of the companyattend my church and found out that Ineeded an internship for the summer,”Lewis said. “I helped put togetherpress kits and proposal materials forevents coming up in Atlanta, whichmeans I was busy gathering all theinformation about the talent andattended the events.”

Lewis’ experience provided hervaluable insight in what she wants todo after graduation.

“I learned the details and stepsinvolved and the logistics that actuallyfall into planning a successful event,which clarifies and gives a real-worldexperience that goes beyond collegeclasses,” Lewis said. “I would love towork in the event planning businessafter college and recommend thateverybody try and find an internshipbecause it is a great experience andwill hopefully give a feel for what youwould or would not want to pursue.”

Overall, Elon students took advan-tage of the summer to work, travel,take classes or just relax. Summerserved as a great time to take a breakfrom school to do whatever they want-ed, inevitably leading to the excitementof moving back to Elon and begininganother year.

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I went to Sicily, Italy with the sum-mer abroad program through Elon.The program lasted one month andI took an Italian course and atourism course. I also vacationed inFrance for two and a half weekswith my mom. Went I got back tothe U.S. I horse-showed.

Christina Mangano, sophomore

Photo Submitted

Contact Colby Pierce at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.

I worked 25-30 hours a week as alifeguard for the past four years. Itpaid okay, but I don’t want to do itagain. I want a job or internship thatwill look better on my resume thanlifeguarding.

How did youspend your time

over the summer? Shannon Holland, sophomore

Photo Submitted

Senior Alana Dunn takes a break from her internship at FIE and poses in front of London’s Tower Bridge.

Junior Joelle Dent and Tayga Gedikwatch a men’s Turkey socccer gamein Istanbul, Turkey.

Photo Submitted

Sophomore Ivy Crank takes amoment to pose upon a cliff after along 12-mile hike just outside ofHope, Alaska.