Power Lunch
Melanie Penna, a 1989 Saint Mary's Alum, talks with POSC majors at the Departments 6th Annual Power Lunch on Saturday, April 5, 2008. Melanie is current at VP at Comcast in Philadelphia. She was joined by Veronica Villalobos, 1996, and Madeline Carpinelli, 1999. The panelist provided our majors with priceless insights into some of the career acheivements and challenges and the contribution their Saint Mary's education as Politicacl Science Majors. Veronica is currently working for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington DC while Madeline is about to begin a Ph.D program at the University of Minnesota after almost a decade as a poliicy analyst and consultant on presciritption drug policy.
On May 3, 2008, the Political Science Department honored several of our outstanding seniors at the Saint Mary's Honors Convocation. The Juliette Noone Lester Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement was given to Lesley Weaver. Lesley was also honored as the Valedictorian of the class of 2008. The Lous Tondreau Award for Service was shared by 2007-2008 Political Science Club President Maria Balata and our Student Academic Council Rep Katie Thompson. Two of our seniors were also honored by other departments as Beth McKevitt shared the English Department's Creative Writing Award and Jeanne Choquehuanca received the Intercultural Studies Prize. This was our biggest class of majors in 15 years and an outstanding one!
For anyone who plans on or is thinking about going on the Washington Semester Program: The Political Science Department has received a multimedia CD-ROM on the program. The CD tells you about the different programs, including internships, and gives you a feeling of what the program is like. And instead of just reading about the program on paper, you can get a feeling of what it is like through the interviews of other students. Also they give you ways to apply to this program on the CD. If you would like to check this CD out (sorry, you can't keep this one), you need to contact Sean Savage.
- Project Vote Smart's National Internship Program allows students to get a behind the scenes view of the U.S. political system while simultaneously receiving academic credit. The program seeks students interested in making factual, unbiased political information accessible to all. The 10-week minimum internship is located at the Great Divide Ranch in Montana where, according to the brochure, you will be surrounded by…enormous trout. For more information, see Sean Savage or check out Project Vote Smart's website at www.vote-smart.org.
- Indiana Legal Services needs volunteer Intake Workers for the Summer and/or Fall 2003 at both their Bloomington and South Bend locations. ILS provides free legal representation to eligible low-income persons in civil legal matters. The Intake Worker's responsibilities include conducting an initial interview and writing a narrative of the intake information (which will become the basis for decisions regarding client representation). Additionally, there are some "summer only" AmeriCorps intake positions available in South Bend and Bloomington. For more information, see Sean Savage.
- The Woodrow Wilson School offers a summer program in policy analysis for students of color from historically underrepresented backgrounds interested in pursuing careers in public and international affairs. The goal of the summer institute is to help students who are one or two semesters away from obtaining an undergraduate degee to prepare for graduate study at Princeton. Participants gain a comprehensive understanding of the Woodrow Wilson School and the opportunities for professional careers in public policy and international affairs. For more information, see Pat Pierce.
- Consider LegalCorps, the AmeriCorps program of Indiana Legal Services. The South Bend office of Indiana Legal Services is currently seeking a half-time (20hrs/wk; 900 hrs total) Hispanic Outreach member and a quarter-time (10-15hrs/wk; 450 hrs total) Hotline Interviewer member. See Sean Savage for more information.
- If anyone will be in the D.C. area this summer and still needs a place to stay, contact Catholic University about their summer housing opportunities. Call them at 202-319-5277 or e-mail at cua-summer@cua.edu.
- Resources for the Future, an independent nonprofit organization specializing in research, policy analysis and public education on environmental, energy and natural resource issues, has several paid summer internships available for graduate and undergraduate students. See Prof. Savage for more details.For more information, access this website: www.rff.org
- Senior POSC majors seeking jobs and housing in Washington, DC after they graduate may want to email Erin Reese (class of 2003) at erinreese_smc@yahoo.com.
- The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund has a Legislative Internship program and a Fellows program for Latina students. See Prof. Savage for details.
- IUSB School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) has scholarships for the Master of Public Affairs degree with a concentration in community and economic development. The scholarships cover all fees, including books. They also include a required, paid internship. For more information and application, please call the IUSB SPEA office at (219) 237-4131.
