Something happens when college students study in a global city or complete internships in culturally and linguistically diverse environments. New perspectives are developed. Ideas are exchanged. Memorable connections are made.
Rhodes College, Centre College, and The University of the South jointly have created a new semester-long program for their students to work and study this fall in New York City, thanks to a grant received in 2018 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
“Global education is a hallmark for each of our schools. Faculty and staff have built this program with the support of our most senior leaders,” says Dr. Erin Hillis, director of the Buckman Center for International Education at Rhodes. “The practice of innovation and collaboration that is being established has promise for additional opportunities in the future.”
The New York City Internship Program runs through mid-December for a total of 16 academic credits. It is made up of an eight-hour academic internship and two courses. One course focuses on the theater industry, on and off Broadway, as well as the personal, cultural, and professional value of theater. Students will get to attend live performances.
The other course delves into the history of the people of New York including African American and Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and immigrants from Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. Fieldtrips and walking tours to New York City’s neighborhoods, museums, and other cultural venues are part of the course content.
Internship opportunities exist in the areas of finance, broadcasting, theater, public relations, and marketing. In addition, students get to network with college alumni living in New York.
Rhodes alumna Maddie Callis ’10, director of Mastercard’s City Possible program, serves as one of three coordinators for the New York City Internship Program.
Four of the 14 students in the program are from Rhodes, representing business, international studies, and English majors.
“The New York program has opened opportunities for our Rhodes group in every sector. The Empire City offers more than business and academics with endless entertainment, cuisines, and natural spaces,” says senior international studies major Priya Tummalapalli. “We are only a few weeks into the program, but I have already come away with new ideas for my post-graduate decision, networked with prominent men and women in my career focus, and will continue to soak up everything this city has to offer.”
About 80 percent of Rhodes students complete at least one internship, and 60 percent of Rhodes students study abroad at least once before they graduate. Students may use their federal and institutional aid on more than 400 Rhodes and affiliated semester-long study abroad and study away programs, including the New York City Internship Program.