Organization: International Peace Bureau (Geneva, Switzerland)
Year: Class of 2016 (graduating a year early)
Major: International Relations with a concentration in International Security
Duration: Summer
Compensation: Unpaid but funded through Tufts Career Center Internship Grant
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| (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre) |
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| Sunrise in Geneva, Switzerland (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre) |
Alicia found her internship by exploring the connections from her previous internship, American Friends Service Committee. After working on a project with AFSC that was endorsed by the International Peace Bureau, Alicia used her professional network to best position herself for her next opportunity. This way, when applying to the IPB, she had the advantage of highlighting work she did with AFSC in her cover letter.
Independent work is a big part of interning. As an intern in charge of youth outreach, Alicia had many self-teaching moments. Not only did she have to independently research social media management techniques, but she also created a project for herself, the IPB online youth forum, after finding that she needed more work to do.
Organizations can sometimes have difficulty finding and assigning interns work - especially during the chaos of the workday. If your supervisor is often absent or busy, it's important to seek out advice from others and do some research yourself. A model intern, Alicia refused to be idle. She used her previous contacts at AFSC as well as the Career Center to ask questions and brainstorm new project ideas. Additionally, because of the more intimate environment of the IPB, it was easy for her to pitch her own projects. So even if you don't feel like you're getting much attention at your internship, you may have more power than you think. Like Alicia, if you find yourself twiddling your thumbs, don't get comfortable ...
Talk to people who are living the dream. By that, I mean, your dream profession. We see this with alum as well - people love to share their experiences and advice about how they got to where they are today. During her time at the IPB, Alicia spoke to multiple members of the United Nations and other NGOs. Through their experiences and advice, Alicia learned more about the steps she would have to take to pursue a career in disarmament affairs.
An intern's job is to learn. Take any opportunity to learn from those who work in the field. It can open your eyes to new opportunities in your desired field, or it can show you that this may not be the best path for you.
Study abroad always brings a new perspective. As 40% of Geneva's residents are not native Swiss people, the city is a very diverse and international community. Even though Alicia initially felt nervous about connecting with other interns in her short-term residence, she eventually meshed with the interns from multiple offices and around the world. It was here where she got to speak to other students about their experiences and learn more about the top graduate programs in the UK, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Like any study abroad opportunity, Alicia was introduced to an international population and learned more about the opportunities that exist beyond the US. If working abroad is something you're thinking about, it's definitely worth exploring the organization and internship opportunities there! A major takeaway from Alicia's internship was the interactions she had with the people she lived with and the things she learned from them. All in all, the abroad internship experience offers amazing learning experiences in and out of the office.
If you would like to learn more about Alicia's experience or the experiences from our many other interns who also received Tufts Career Center Internship Grants, check out the Tufts Internship Profile (TIP) Book for detailed profiles!
Thanks for reading!
Nina Joung
Class of 2018
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| Use each experience to bring you closer to your end goal (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre) |
Organizations can sometimes have difficulty finding and assigning interns work - especially during the chaos of the workday. If your supervisor is often absent or busy, it's important to seek out advice from others and do some research yourself. A model intern, Alicia refused to be idle. She used her previous contacts at AFSC as well as the Career Center to ask questions and brainstorm new project ideas. Additionally, because of the more intimate environment of the IPB, it was easy for her to pitch her own projects. So even if you don't feel like you're getting much attention at your internship, you may have more power than you think. Like Alicia, if you find yourself twiddling your thumbs, don't get comfortable ...
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| Gruyères, Switzerland (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre) |
An intern's job is to learn. Take any opportunity to learn from those who work in the field. It can open your eyes to new opportunities in your desired field, or it can show you that this may not be the best path for you.
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United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) panel on cybersecurity
(photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)
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Like any study abroad opportunity, Alicia was introduced to an international population and learned more about the opportunities that exist beyond the US. If working abroad is something you're thinking about, it's definitely worth exploring the organization and internship opportunities there! A major takeaway from Alicia's internship was the interactions she had with the people she lived with and the things she learned from them. All in all, the abroad internship experience offers amazing learning experiences in and out of the office.
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| The abroad internship experience can be sweeter than this giant wall of chocolate (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre) |
Thanks for reading!
Nina Joung
Class of 2018
