CONWAY, Ark. (July 19, 2019) – More than 100 Hendrix College
students are spending the summer of 2019 participating in internships through
the Office of Career Services.
Just over half of the interns advised by the Office of Career
Services have remained in Arkansas for the summer; others have fanned out to 16
states and the District of Columbia, or as far as the Galapagos Islands, Rwanda,
and France. The summer opportunities to work with for-profit and nonprofit
entities enable students to gain insight into fields as diverse as public
health, film production, law, politics, faith communities, accounting, scientific
research, economic development, and environmental sustainability.
“Securing an internship can influence a student’s career path
like no other experience, and we’re thankful that a number of programs here on
campus provide stipends for internships that would otherwise not offer
compensation,” said Leigh Lassiter-Counts ’01, director of career services at
Hendrix. “It makes accepting internships possible for many students who rely on
summer income to provide for their expenses during the school year. We love
having so many students exploring work that truly interests them.”
Victoria Chu ’20, a psychology major from Harrison, Ark., has a summer
internship in the pottery studio at Holden
Village in Chelan,
Washington.
“My time at Holden Village has come with several new and
interesting experiences, the least of which is learning how to teach ceramics
to new and budding artists,” Chu said. “The ability to explore how I best teach
and how others best learn has allowed me to really envision my life as an art
therapist, working with young and old, as my future career.”
Kennedy King ’20, an English-creative writing major from Hot
Springs, Ark., spent two months based in Dallas working with the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
“I was able to participate in tasks that were directly related
to the land acquisition process of large-scale federal works, in addition to
receiving career advice from various members of counsel within the
organization. This experience has provided me with a much more accurate
representation of the pathways available to me as I look towards law school
following my senior year at Hendrix,” King said.
Audrey Mutoni ’22, a biochemistry-molecular biology major,
returned to her hometown of Kigali, Rwanda, for a summer internship with the
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) of the Rwanda
Biomedical Center.
“The main goal of the NRL is assessing Rwanda’s health
standards. NRL sets policies for quality assurance and epidemic disease control
for all laboratories in the country,” Mutoni said. “I am learning how NRL
contributes to the nation’s health system by working in the lab and gaining
connection with people involved in the biomedical field.”
“An internship offers an engaged learning opportunity that fits
beautifully with the liberal arts experience,” said Tricia Burris ’94, the
College’s coordinator of employment and internships. “In addition to what
students learn at their various internship sites, they also receive academic
and professional development support from our faculty and staff. Hendrix
students leave these experiences with greater clarity about their educational
and career goals — and with tools to help them make those plans a reality.”
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix
College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal
arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40
Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic
quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture
in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has
been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more,
visit www.hendrix.edu.