Adriana Zavala, a senior majoring
in sociology and Japanese, so enjoyed her summer internship at Schenectady Day
Nursery that she signed on to work there 16 hours per week even after her
classes at Union resume this fall.
That's on top of a double major, an
ambitious senior thesis on attitudes toward AIDS in Japan,
a job as a coordinator for Big Brothers/Big Sisters (she has a “little” too), a
DJ position with WRUC, and a term as president of the sociology club.
Esther Bauscher, a junior pre-med
student from Cambridge, plans to
continue working for Habitat for Humanity in Schenectady
once she resumes studies toward her majors in psychology and biology.
Zavala's and Bauscher's
experiences are typical of the six Union students who served as interns this
summer with local non-profits in a program sponsored by FleetBoston Financial
Group.
“They're all hooked,” said Janet
Mattis of the Becker Career
Center, who coordinated the
program. “All of the interns have said it was just right for them and that they
plan to continue in some capacity with their organization after this summer.”
The six interns are to give presentations
on their summer internships on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Becker
Career Center.
Each will give a 15 minute talk. “I can assure you that they will be sharing
some very interesting and very positive experiences,” said Mattis.
Bauscher wanted to return this
summer to Habitat because volunteering there during high school was “the
greatest experience of my life.” Shortly after she arrived, however, she found
herself replacing a departed project manager. “I expected to be doing all this
menial stuff,” she said. “But I pretty much ran the show.”
Senior economics major Michelle
Arcuri interned at Bethesda House, where she assisted with a newsletter and
helped guests of the Schenectady
shelter with budgeting and other tasks. “I wanted to push my comfort limit
while I still had the chance to,” she said of working at Bethesda House. “After
graduation, an opportunity to volunteer at an organization like (Bethesda
House) would not be feasible, if for no other reason than financial.”
Other Union students and their
respective non-profits are: Tanu Chandra '03, Girls Inc.; Jessica Eaton '03, Schenectady
Museum; and Alyson Ligon '04, Nathan
Littauer Hospital.
The $20,000 grant from FleetBoston
covered a $3,300 stipend for each of the six students. The College has received
$75,000 in support from FleetBoston over the last three years.
“Union College has a unique leadership role in Schenectady,” said Hermes Ames, president of Fleet Bank of Upstate New York. “We are pleased to support their efforts to provide local non-profits with the benefits of their students' knowledge and expertise. This type of collaborative effort will benefit all of the participants as well as the entire community.”