Most students view the time between fall and spring semesters as a period to catch up on sleep, see old friends and unwind for a whole month while their studies are temporarily put on hold. However, some Wheaton students choose to take on the task of completing winter internships while they are away from school. This winter break, Wheaton provided funding for 19 students to complete internships in various parts of the country and in various disciplines.
Funding for these “winternships” was obtained by students through a variety of Wheaton sources. Stipends are provided for Wheaton students each year from the Nancy Lyon Porter ’43 Community Service Fellowship program, the Blakely Fetridge Bundy ’66 Work and Learning Fellowship and the Talanian Family Work and Learning Fellowship.
Students this year participated in work from many potential career paths, such as Elizabeth Burrill ’16 who interned at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, or Alessandra Mistri ’18 who worked as a teacher’s assistant at the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, N.Y.
Opportunities for students from all majors were abundant this break, as seen by the students who chose to participate in internships that provided experience in fields from art to science. Roger Freeman ’19 and Emma-Kate Metsker ’17 both pursued their interests as art majors, with Freeman working in the SoHo Photo Gallery and Metsker taking on a position at the Andra Birkerts Design. Claire Crawbuck ’16 and Rebecca Olivieri ’18 both chose to pursue science outside of the classroom through internships at the San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington and Norton Physical Therapy, respectively.
Although students may have taken part in many different fields through their internships, those who participated in the winternship program agree that they gained a unique hands-on perspective. Winternships allow students each year to learn more about their potential career paths outside the classroom.