On Friday, August 16, 2019, students who participated in the Summer 2019 Global Internship Program shared their experience interning abroad for two months with students, faculty, staff and members of the community. The event was held in the Bayview Alcove at the College of San Mateo.
In support of goals to internationalize the educational experience, the SMCCCD Study Abroad Office offers students from Skyline College, Cañada College, and College of San Mateo the opportunity to participate in two-month academic internships around the world in a variety of fields such as business and marketing, engineering, health sciences, communications, computer science, social work, and more. This summer, 19 students interned in the following cities around the world: Santiago, Prague, Dublin, Madrid, Cape Town, Hong Kong, New York, and here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In addition to hands-on learning in supervised, academic internships, students enrolled in a 3-unit Skyline College course—Global Identity and Professional Development—taught by Skyline College Sociology Professor, Rika Fabian. This course was designed to provide global interns a structured opportunity to understand, reflect on, and articulate their multi-layered experiences in their host country, as well as to develop their professional portfolio. Michelle Pineda, a student at Cañada College who interned at Be Madrid this summer, explained that she “became more confident with [her] career aspirations, gained international connections, and real-life experience.”
Many students who participated in the SMCCCD Global Internship Program received scholarships toward their program fees, made possible by the generous support of the Skyline College President’s Innovation Fund and the California Community Colleges Strong Workforce Program.
We also want to congratulate Skyline College student Jaron Dow, Cañada College student Martov Alvarez, and College of San Mateo students Aaron Wilson and Malik Griffin, who all received the U.S. Department of State’s prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to participate in the Global Internship Program.
The Global Internship Program is a part of SMCCCD Study Abroad, housed in the Global Learning Programs and Services Division at Skyline College. For more information about studying or interning abroad, faculty teach abroad opportunities, travel for lifelong learners, visiting international faculty presenters and student scholarship opportunities, please contact Zaid Ghori at (650) 738-7088 or ghoriz@smccd.edu or Stephanie Wells at (650) 738-7159 or wellss@smccd.edu. You can also learn more by visiting the SMCCD Study Abroad Facebook page or Instagram page @smcccd_study_abroad.
Article and Photo by Stephanie Wells