Parents Weekend + Summer Plans

Last weekend was parent's weekend and mom came down to spend time with me. The school had lots of events planned, like speeches by the president and dean, sample lectures given by professors, tours of the campus, the rare book room, and workshops on study abroad, internships and financial aid. The weather was horrible and rainy, but I think she had fun anyway. Mom came to classes with me on Monday, and to my horror she participated in my "Heretics in early Christianity" class. Yeah, I know. She WOULD be all about the heretics... But I'm only kidding! She actually said something relevant and not-stupid which is hard for most students, including myself. So she didn't really embarrass me.

Last night the comedian Lewis Black came and performed to a full house. Some of it was pretty funny, but it wasn't his best routine. A lot of jokes about the economy are a little lost on us because 1) it's hard to see as funny or 2) because we're so secluded in our liberal arts college that we're just not the best audience for those jokes.

My academic adviser met with me last week to discuss my 3 year plan. I am working with her on potentially designing my own major so that I can meet my own needs. I would be combining anthropology, writing and photography. If you're having trouble picturing those 3 things together, National Geographic is a really good example of what happens when they combine. I don't have a name yet. We're working on it.
In addition to thinking about major requirements, we're also talking about my study abroad semester Junior year. It will definitely depend on which requirements I have already filled on where I decide to go, but as for now the options are: Copenhagen, Denmark, Prague, Czech Republic, Christchurch, New Zealand, or Norwich, England. Notice I'm learning Italian but not going to Italy? Yeah... Most of the Italian programs are studio art driven, which I'm not.

And of course, in planning we also come to the idea of internships. Most of them are unpaid, and that's unfortunate, but were I not to do an internship could I really expect to find a paying job for less than 3 months? No, I think not. I couldn't last year, and this summer would be even worse. So here are the options I've come up with.

Option #1- Earlier in the year I talked about the Critical Language Scholarship, where the State Department arranges for groups of students to learn target languages through intensive immersion programs abroad. I applied for the Arabic program, which is run in Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan. They pay for everything, including airfare, and I learn a language that is becoming increasingly helpful in many fields I'm interested in and will look fantastic on my resumé. I don't hear back until late March. It's a very selective program, so I'm hoping for the best.

Option #2- I recently found and just finished the application for an internship at Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehab Center. They take in injured animals and give them the care they need to heal until they can be released back into the wild. And summer is "baby season," when they need seasonal interns to help them look after the large numbers of animals they get, many of them young. They look after everything from squirrels and bunnies, to eagles and fawns, to baby raccoons and seal pups. Here's a link to a blog that a regular volunteer keeps, I highly recommend at least taking a look through the pictures! http://hollowhappenings.blogspot.com/ I wouldn't be paid, but they have housing for interns, and a small stipend for food and travel. Wolf Hollow is up in Washington on San Juan Island, which would be a great place to spend the summer.

Option #3- Teach Breakthroughs is a program that allows college students to teach classes (designed by themselves) to classes of middle school aged kids. The kids being taught are intelligent, but are not considered "likely" to go to college because of race or low-income, so the program seeks to close the achievement gap with intensive summer institutes that prepare them for college-prep high schools. The work is incredibly hard, and involves 10-11 hour days at the school. But it also sounds incredibly rewarding and the idea of being able to teach something like a Geography class sounds so much fun. Unfortunately the program isn't offered in Portland or Seattle, so I would be applying to San José or Denver, etc. It comes with a living stipend, and may be able to arrange housing through nearby universities or a homestay with a student in the program. I wish it were in Portland though.

Option #4- The deadline for my last consideration isn't until May, and I should have heard back from the first 3 by then, so this is really a sort of back-up. But that doesn't mean it isn't awesome. The Oregon Zoo offers photography internships, which would be part-time and unpaid. However, I'd be getting into the zoo for free, and taking pictures of animals, zoo events, etc and helping with zoo publications among other things. I would be able to live at home and be around my friends for the summer, which is a positive (kind of).

I guess we'll see what happens! Look at the Hollow Happenings blog. Cute pictures, I promise!