8/7/2019 2010 Newsletter 2

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A P U B L I C A T I O N O F E D U C A T I O N A L P R O G R A M M E S A B R O A D

Internships in Europe

Program Locations

Bonn/Cologne

Berlin

Brussels

Edinburgh

London

Madrid

Thinking About Interning Abroad?Choosing a Study Abroad Program

The opportunity to study and work in an exciting and new foreign environment provides

depth and enrichment of cross-cultural knowledge that can only be gained through experi-

ence. Not only does going abroad allow for unique and personal understanding of new

places, but it also gives future, potential employers the indication of a person who is willing

to explore and succeed in unprecedented areas and environments.

Participating in a European Internship

Educational Programmes Abroad (EPA) was the first study abroad program to allow American

students the opportunity to participate in internships throughout parts of Western Europe

and has continued to do so for the past thirty years. We are deliberately small. This means

we are flexible and happy to accommodate special requests.

Our internship placements have expanded to areas of politics, law, health care, art & thea-

tre, business, finance, journalism, and many more. We care about the quality of every stu-

dents experience and are dedicated to making it the best it can possibly be. Internship

placements are catered to you, allowing for the best fit internship to ensure you a worth-

while experience.

Resume Building Skills Learned While Studying Abroad

Communication skills (including listening

and overcoming language barriers)

Foreign language skills

Global point of view, appreciation of di-

versity, tolerance, cultural awareness,

and sensitivity to customs and culturaldifferences

Flexibility and adaptability

Motivation and initiative

Organizational and time-management

skills

Ability to identify, set, and achieve goals

General travel and navigational skills

Problem-solving and crisis-management

skills

Patience

Independence, self-reliance, and respon-

sibility

Perseverance

Inquisitiveness

Decide today to increase your prospects. We look forward to seeing you in Europe!

For more program details and application materials visit: www.epa-internships.org

Educational Programmes Abroad, UR/Lattimore Hall 206, Rochester, NY 14627-0375

Tel: 585.275.8850 Email: usoffice@epa-internships.org

Cologne Cathedral, Germany

Edinburgh Castle in Scotland

Connect with EPA!FaceBook: EPA Internships in Europe

Twitter: EPA_Internships

Chat: EPAChat

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When studying abroad in London, I completed an internship with the Islington and

City Credit Union. By completing this internship I got a great hands on experience and

really got to see how credit unions worked inside and out. I did not just concentrate in

one division or area, I was able to expand my horizons and touch on every aspect of

the credit union. Some tasks I completed throughout the internship included: working

with members accounts, conducting marketing research, attending monthly board

meetings, attending court hearings, and promoting loan sales based on my research. I

can truly say it was a great experience and I learned the foundations of the banking

system as a whole.

Other students take on internships with larger banks to get a big name on their re-

sume and under their belt. This too is a great experience, but it is focused on one as-

pect or division of the bank. It is tough for undergraduate students to know exactly

what they want to do and what they would like to take up. I urge students to broaden

their horizons and try everything before trying to narrow options down and choose a

career. For students in finance, economics, or any student that is somewhat interested

in banking or business, I highly recommend an internship with a credit union.

Interning in Credit Union

Day In and Day Out

(oui!) and I can actuallypronounce basic phrases -

quite a relief when you'reconstantly meeting people

who speak French or

Dutch! In addition to these

two courses, we meet with

our Furman Brussels group

once a week for European

Studies and to review our

internship experiences. InEuropean Studies, we dis-cuss our readings for our

group trips, includingbooks about WWI, WWII

and the German Stasi re-gime, and current EU and

US affairs. I especially en-joy our discussions relating

to current events. We dis-

cuss and debate health

care, sustainability/climate

change, and science and

research - all of which re-

late to my internship re-sponsibilities. While it's

enlightening to hear opin-

ions from my peers, it's

even more interesting to

gain perspective on whatthe EU is trying to initiate

in respect to these topicsversus the US. I am gain-

ing a completely new

sense of the world we livein and the responsibilities

of being global neighbors.

Of course, things in an un-

familiar country are never

perfect, but always inter-

esting. Regardless of what

happens in Europe - it's a

constant adventure, test-

ing you in simple and com-plicated ways. Now thatI've been here more than

two months, I'm beginningto notice how my peers

and I are adapting to ournew ways of life. It has

become second nature liv-ing in a large urban city,

using public transportation,

being at least bilingual,

interacting with professors

and other students who

have strong opinions about

our home country, alongwith balancing classes,

internships, travels, and

communications with fam-

ily and friends back home.

It's no easy feat, but weare all making the best of

every moment - growingwith each step.

Along with my Furmanclasses, I am taking two of

my classes at Vesalius Col-lege (VUB) - French and

International Business Ne-

gotiations. Vesalius College

is a small private interna-

tional college, where I

have been enjoying my

classes. In International

Business Negotiations,there are students fromPortugal, Italy, Belgium,

India, United States, Can-ada, France, Spain, Latvia,

Germany, and the list goeson. Collaborating with stu-

dents from these diversecountries and cultures is

truly a learning experience

in itself. Since our class is

a simulation of former in-

ternational negotiations,

we are constantly exposed

to each country's ideas,prejudices, and goals. This

is certainly an opportunity

one would only have while

being in the minority in an

international setting, soI'm appreciating this op-

portunity to learn andgrow. Plus, my French is

improving dramatically

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Internships in Europe

Jon Pesota (left) infront of the Houses of

Parliament in London.

WE ARE ALL

MAKING THE

BEST OF EVERY

MOMENT

GROWING WITH

EACH STEP.

Ashley Baker in Brussels

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On Saturday, my internship

experience came full circle

when I attended an IDF

Europe Board Meet-ing. Throughout the meeting,

my supervisor Lala kindly

inquired as to whether or not

I was learning from the ex-

perience, and if I felt that it

was worthwhile. I assured

her that I was truly grateful

to be invited to attend. It

was interesting to see such a

diverse group of profession-

als represented on the

Board, and to listen to their

input on the issue of diabe-

tes in relation to their spe-

cific field of expertise. There

are 11 Board Members from

fields ranging from Manage-

ment Consulting to Internal

Medicine. The purpose of

the meeting was to introduce

them to IDF Europe and to

outline their duties as Board

Members. I got a uniquefirsthand perspective of the

brainpower behind IDF's

ideas and actions.

At the conclusion of the

meeting, I realized just how

much this experience has

meant to me as the bitter-

sweet feeling sunk in. It was

hard to say goodbye to

Lala. She was so welcoming

and eager to share informa-

tion with me about the or-

ganization. I feel so fortu-

nate to have worked with

someone so passionate

about not only her work, but

about the world as a whole.

It's surreal to think back on

all that I've accomplished

over the past four

months. This study abroad

adventure has undoubtedlybeen more rewarding and

challenging than I ever could

have anticipated. I navi-

gated my way through Euro-

pean freedom, completed a

Communications internship

with an International Organi-

zation, attended meetings in

the European Parliament,

traveled to at least 7 differ-

ent countries, written articles

for a NGO's global newslet-

ter...I could go on for while,

but words can't really cap-

ture all the ways that I've

grown from this journey.

Home Stretching It

nomenon. People can tell

right away that you are

from somewhere else byyour accent. All the immi-

grants who came in to askabout jobs or a lawyer

would ask me where I wasfrom. And once they heardthat I was from somewhereelse, they seemed to feel

more relaxed. It did notmatter that we were not

from the same country, the

fact that we were both newhere was very important to

them. They would confidevery personal things in me.

With each tale I heard, themore profound my respect

would grow for them. Weboth just wanted to carve

out our space in the world.With each passing day, Imade my niche bigger and

bigger and created strongerand stronger bonds with my

coworkers and the clientsalike. It was not long be-

fore I was invited to partakein the common Spanish

work day tradition of chat-

ting for an hour or so over a

coffee or a caa. By the

end, I was the factotum ofsorts. I would get juridical

stamps on documents, bethe receptionist and be a

teachers aide in Spanishclasses. No one could askfor a more fulfilling and wellrounded study abroad ex-

perience.

The home I have found in

Madrid I will carry with me

on all my travels as well as

to my traditional home in

the US. Madrid and my EPA

internship taught me that

home is a state of mind. It

is something that we can

carry with us to the furthest

reaches of the globe. It is aframe of mind that grounds

us and allows us to truly

take full advantage of our

travels, for once we feel at

home anywhere in the

world, we can embrace eve-

ryone as neighbors.

I spent my last semester as

an undergraduate in Madrid,

Spain and no one couldhave asked for a bigger

bang to go out on than Ireceived. I learned so much

about myself and enrichedmy education. And while Ilearned an innumerableamount of things from my

experience, the most impor-tant lesson that I will take

away is: wherever you are,

you are home.

I thought my internship

quite fitting and kind ofironic. I was placed in an

NGO designed to help immi-grants. And while I know

most of these people hadbeen here longer than I

had, I would do my best tooffer the services I knew

about. In the beginning, Iwas placed with under alawyer but after voicing I

have no idea how to do anyof the official juridical docu-

ments; I moved to after-noon receptionist. Here I

found an interesting phe-

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Jessica Wilhelm with other EPA

students in Madrid.

MADRID AND

MY EPA

INTERNSHIP

TAUGHT ME THAT

HOME IS A STATE

OF MIND

Wherever you are, you are home.

Gillian Budd in

Brussels.

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This November, I was in the same place

I had been twenty years ago as an EPA

exchange student: Berlin.

In 1989, our EPA group of seven Ameri-

can students led by Hartwig Prmann

went to Berlin for an educational trip. As

part of our trip, we were accompanied by

Andreas May Johann, who led us in a

student project to make videos of our

trip to Berlin. As we observed the situa-

tion in the then divided city of Berlin, we

recorded our experiences on video. We

visited various famous spots, including

Potsdam Platz and the Brandenburg

Gate. In addition, we spoke with protest-

ers in East Berlin, and attended nightly

vigils at the Gethsemane Church, a cen-

ter for the reform movement in East Ber-

lin. What we were unable to predict at

the time was the fact that the Berlin Wall

would suddenly come crashing down,

that country after country in the East

Bloc would experience velvet revolutions,

and that Germany would rapidly move

down the path toward reunification. We

started as observers, but quickly became

participants in events of world historical

significance.

In 1989, we made personal friendshipswith some of the protesters who were,

like us, young, spirited, and politically

active. These connections developed

into personal friendships that have

spanned the decades. However, we had

not seen one another in person in 20

years. Once again led by our EPA pro-

gram director Hartwig Prmann and

Andreas May Johann, we returned to

Berlin to visit some of the same sites and

to reunite with some of our former East

German friends. On the eve of the 20th

Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall,two 1989 EPA alumni (myself and Chris

Sylvester) met with two former protest-

ers from East Berlin (Tina Parlow and

Berit Hbner) under the famous world

time clock on Alexander Platz. Over the

next two days, we revisited some of the

same places we had seen 20 year ago,

including the Reichstag building, the

Brandenburg Gate, Check Point Charlie,

the Gethsemane Church, and a memorial

to those who died trying to cross the

Berlin Wall. The places are much the

same, but Germany has changed

greatly. However, Germans are particu-

larly adept at recognizing and retaining

bits of their history, both glorious and

tragic.

It is now 2009, and after 20 years, how

does one incorporate such experi-

ences? For all of us who attended our

reunion, this was a special experi-

ence. We all have moved forward with

life, and we now have careers, families,

and are completely integrated into our

daily lives. Still, there is something

about us that was changed, and will for-

ever remain changed, as a result of par-

ticipating in the events in Berlin during

the autumn of 1989. But how does one

clarify this to oneself and others?

Perhaps the best way is to share those

experiences with future generations, so

they might better understand the histori-

cal circumstances of their lives and those

lived experiences of older generations.

Both of my former East German friendshave daughters who are approximately

the age their mothers were in 1989 when

they demonstrated against the govern-

ment of the German Democratic Repub-

lic. They share these experiences with

their daughters. Similarly, on the night

of November 9th of this year, we met

with 18 year old American exchange stu-

dents, and told them about our experi-

ences in 1989. It was particularly grati-

fying, as a former EPA student, to meet

with Hartwig Prmann and his present

students. One incorporates some of lifesmost important and deeply influential

experiences by recounting them for oth-

ers, and by helping others to understand

their own personal histories.

-Professor Glenn Muschert

EPA STAFF

EPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Terence Foster

LONDON PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

Andrea Morris

EDINBURGH PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

Karen MacCormick

BRUSSELS PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

Carolyn Collignon

GERMAN PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR

Hartwig Prmann

MADRID PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

Roco Bartholom Rodrguez

US PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Lisa Frauens

AREA REPRESENTATIVES

Anne Dabb, MidwesternKristin Golden, Western

Julie Koidin, MidwesternStuart C. Parker, Northeastern

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F E D U C A T I O N A L P R O G R A M M E S A B R O A D

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Berlin: Then and Now 1989-2009

EPA students in Berlin, 1989

Return to Berlin, November 2009

For more information on Educational Programmes Abroad

and application materials visit: www.epa-internships.org.