Ten students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences have swapped the sandstone corridors of Bond University for offices in Washington and New York to take up exciting opportunities working with some of the world’s leading organisations.
International Relations and Law student Yun Ho will spend the next 15 weeks working in Amnesty International’s Washington headquarters, living in D.C. with her fellow students Marian Pond and Cassandra Gundry who are undertaking internships with the Potomac Institute’s International Centre for Terrorism Studies and CBS News.
Students Sophia Lazarides, Mona Mizikovsky, Annabelle Cottee, Hannah Imgraben, Emma Tawse, Andrew Keep and Rob Smith have also headed to the land of the stars and stripes to work in the New York offices of Link TV, the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNAUSA), Shape.com, 42 West, Advance Group, Quintessentially Group and Zeitgeist Films respectively.
Having only recently arrived in the United States to commence her semester-long internship, Yun Ho says she is excited about what lies ahead.
“Life in D.C. is worlds apart from life on the Gold Coast, and I am so excited to be able to combine work, study and travel - all while completing credit towards my degree,” Ms Ho said.
“In terms of international NGOs, it doesn’t get much better than working for Amnesty International. The depth and breadth of the work they do will expose me to a broad range of awareness projects and field work. I expect to gain a much greater understanding of the American political arena and how NGOs operate.
“Personally, I am also looking forward to meeting a myriad of different people and becoming more independent and mature,” said Ms Ho.
Due to graduate next year, Yun is also hoping the impressive internship will help her resume stand out to future employers and help clarify the direction she would like to take in her career.
General Manager of Bond’s Career Development Centre Ms Kirsty Mitchell said, “In an increasingly competitive job market for graduates … students are seeking the advantage that will make them stand out from the rest.
“International internships and work experience provide an opportunity for students to develop relevant skills and experience within their chosen profession and to apply their academic learning.
“They also help to develop broader skills of adaptability, flexibility, resilience and networking that result from undertaking this experience out of their comfort zone of family, friends and home,” Ms Mitchell said.
Bond University offers both undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to diversify their academic and cultural experiences by participating in an international exchange or internship program. The University’s international perspective was recently praised in an independent audit by the Australian Universities Quality Agency, which commended Bond on the range of international experiences it makes available to its students.
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