Tufts Intern Spotlight: Alicia Sanders-Zakre at the International Peace Bureau

Alicia Sanders-Zakre
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

(photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)

This summer, Alicia chose an internship that fit her interests and helped her clearly visualize her future. With financial support from a Tufts Career Center Internship Grant (which just started to offer grants to internships abroad), Alicia spent her summer getting to know the international community in Geneva, Switzerland and experiencing what it's like working in the NGO (nongovernmental organization) environment and in disarmament affairs.

Sunrise in Geneva, Switzerland (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)

Specialize your search when finding an internship. When it comes to applying for internships, Alicia believes in looking at internships that reflect your specific interests and connections, rather than applying to a slew of organizations that you don't relate well to.

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.

Use each experience to bring you closer to your end goal (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)

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 ...

Gruyères, Switzerland (photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)

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.

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) panel on cybersecurity 

(photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)

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.

The abroad internship experience can be sweeter than this giant wall of chocolate
(photo credit: Alicia Sanders-Zakre)

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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Career Carnival: A Senior Perspective

Hello again, readers!

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Career Carnival. I thought it might be helpful to offer my own experience with the Carnival, since going into things as a senior is a whole different ballgame. Even though it's still September and I'm trying not to psyche myself out too much this early on, I can't help but plan ahead. I went into it with the goal of discovering opportunities that I could seriously consider post-graduation.

I was especially interested in looking at the posters on display, because they came from students who had done internships through the Internship Grant Program. As someone who would be hard-pressed to take on the financial burden of an unpaid internship, I appreciate the fact that Tufts offers this opportunity. As a graduating senior I won't be able to apply, but I certainly encourage the Classes of 2016-2018 to look into it!

It was a beautiful day for careers (and free ice cream)!

Margaret's informative poster about her internship!

In the midst of dozens of posters, it was easy to become overwhelmed by it all. Eventually, I spotted a poster about the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. Civil rights are one of my passions, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to the poster's owner. This was how I met Margaret Azzi (Class of 2016), who worked for the OCR this summer. We had a great conversation about her internship, and I learned a lot. She was gracious enough to answer a few questions about it for the blog.

How did you find out about this particular internship?

"I found out about this internship via the Tufts internship fair. I ended up talking with a member of the Office for Civil Rights and left my resume with them. I received an email within the week regarding applications and submitted a writing sample and a cover letter from there."

When are the important deadlines?
"Deadlines tend to be rolling for Spring, Summer, and Fall. I suggest inquiring about an internship as soon as possible!"

What was your "typical" day like at this internship?
"At the OCR there was never a typical day! Usually I was assigned a specific topic or project to work on, but the work I was doing varied from day to day. At the beginning of each day I stopped in and checked with my mentor regarding what she needed completed by the end of working hours . If there was nothing pertinent due that day, I was free to work on outside projects I’d obtained from other members of the OCR. If there was something extremely important due that day though, I would be called in to work on it with my mentor on that specific task. There was never a dull day at the OCR!"


What was your favorite thing about your internship?
"The people! The staff was so friendly and welcoming. They treated me as one of their own and were always there to answer my questions and help me when I needed it. I learned so many valuable lessons from them throughout the summer."

What was the most challenging aspect of your internship?
"The most challenging part of this internship, in my opinion, was the lack of clear direction on specific parts of projects. As my job included a plethora of reading and research, a lot of parameters of how to execute the project were left for me to decide. As a student, I was previously accustomed to having explicit directions for every written assignment I turned in. My projects at the OCR, though, were more open-ended. While they helped me to foster better writing skills and brought me to be more concise in the formulation of my thoughts, the lack of clear directions was hard for me at first and took some time to become accustomed to."

You were able to be paid for this internship through the Tufts Internship Grant program -- would you suggest this program to students who cannot afford an unpaid internship?

"Yes, I would without a doubt suggest that students apply to this program. It is a wonderful opportunity to fund an internship that is something directly related to my future career interests. The Tufts Internship Grant Program provided me the opportunity to truly explore a field that I ended up loving. Without the grant I know that I personally would not have been able to have this wonderful summer experience!"

It's clear from her words that Margaret's internship was an amazing experience that wouldn't have happened without the Internship Grant. During the Carnival, Margaret told me that she has even decided to continue working with the OCR this fall, since she loved her time there so much. That's definitely the sign of a successful internship!

To learn more about the Internship Grant Program, attend one of the information sessions coming up! The first one is on Friday, October 3rd at noon in Dowling Hall Room 745A. The other sessions are listed here.

Signing off,

Kelly Vieira

Class of 2015

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