For the first time since the spring semester of 2020, two students from Waynesburg University are attending The Washington Center’s (TWC) semester-long academic internship program in Washington D.C.
Waynebsurg’s TWC liaison, Sarah Bell, who is the career development specialist and study abroad coordinator on campus, described a little about the program and what it consists of.
“Students can travel to Washington D.C. and complete an internship for academic credit,” Bell said. “In addition to doing the internship, students take a night class and a professional development seminar. The primary objective is experiential education, so getting their internship experience done.”
According to Waynesburg University’s website, this academic internship program is made up of three components.
“Internship, academic coursework and career readiness programming – each designed to help students translate their academic and professional interests into careers they love,” the website stated.
The two students traveling this semester for the program are Jalen Koontz, criminal justice major and Sidney Pinkston, forensic investigation major. Koontz is interning at The American Legion and Pinkston is interning at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Koontz said he is adapting nicely to life on his own in the nation’s capital, and is excited to take advantage of the opportunities that TWC offers.
“My ultimate goal would be to be offered a full time position, but besides that, the professional experience in the national security field, I think that would go a long way with applying for jobs in the future,” Koontz said. “I would love to make some professional connections that would help me get a job in the future.”
Making professional connections is one of the benefits of attending TWC’s internship program. There are students that travel from all over the world to attend it.
“It is awesome,” Koontz said. “There are people from all around the world here. There are some from Europe, Latin America, Asia and more. It is a really cool experience. That is probably my favorite part about it. I have made friends with people from different countries.”
This program offers something for Waynesburg University students to gain in Washington D.C. that they would not be able to experience here on campus.
“The reason that we decided to partner with The Washington Center and why we think it is such a great experience for Waynesburg students is because they can gain a learning experience that they are not going to get in a traditional classroom setting,” Bell said. “Just being able to get out there, work in your field, make connections with employers, professionals, other students and even people from all across the world, is the reason that we thought it would be really great for our students to have access to the program.”
Students must complete an application process in order to attend TWC’s academic internship program. To see the requirements, have access to resources and to apply, students can visit The Washington Center’s website.
Waynesburg University has its own application process for this program since the students who attend it represent the university.
“We do require students to have a 3.0 GPA to apply for the Washington Center. If not, they must go through an extra application process before we push their application through,” Bell said. “We do this because we want to make sure we send students that will succeed academically and in the experience of being off campus and doing meaningful work in the community. But also, while students are traveling, they are still representing Waynesburg.”
Bell encourages students that are interested in this program to contact her and work with her to take the next steps in the hopes of traveling to educational opportunities through partnerships of Waynesburg University.