Blog Entry # 7

Calvin Hayes

Blog Entry # 7

My internship experience this semester is professionally fulfilling and is preparing me for my career in every way. I work with the FAMU Office of International Education. In this capacity I work as a public relations intern and a special assistant to the director of the program. My job has a structured atmosphere; however, the staff grants me as much flexibility as needed. I spend equally as much hours in the office as I do out of the office. Being that much of my job involves outreach I prefer to be out of the office engaging students about international programs. My average work week involves work everyday of the week, but I put about 5 hours in each Tuesday and Thursday because I have the least amount of classes on those days. Overall, I feel like I work for the office every single day because, I constantly find myself doing something to promote international affairs on campus most of the time. Personally, my internship is more like a lifestyle and less like a job.

I am learning more than I expected from my internship. In my pursuit to expand global awareness on campus, I find myself learning about growing trends across the international spectrum. The field of public diplomacy requires one to be fully engaged in current events that are going one throughout the world.  In order to communicate effectively about international programs, it requires me to know a great deal about the climate of each country that I converse about. In addition, there are new study abroad programs and fellowships that are formed each day. Usually, I can learn about programs and fellowships that I can apply for after graduation. I also enjoy my internship because it allows me to meet and engage the many international students that are on campus. Although FAMU is an HBCU, the institution is very diverse. It is a pleasure to help these foreign students and make them feel welcome to the university. My favorite part of the internship is finding students from all majors and explaining to them how they can take their degree to a global platform.

There are many goals that I would like to accomplish on my internship. Over t he course of this year, I have been able to get a lot done. One of my biggest goals was to form a partnership between the Office of International Education and Student Government. Recently, I was able to get these two entities to form a sustainable committee so that they may garner a better relationship and share resources. Another goal that I had was to form a partnership with the FAMU Recreational Center. As a PR Intern, I have already been instrumental in getting the recreational center to start non- traditional sports programs to include international students. Additionally, I have been able to get 7 additional students to take critical language courses offered at the university. My internship is purpose driven and I’m accomplishing goals that will have a lasting impact on the university.