General

DC Internships

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

I can’t vouch for this, but it might be worth checking out.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT
*******************************************************

CAPITAL SEMESTER
http://www.DCinternships.org/CS
Applications are being accepted for Fall 2011 & Spring 2012
Courses accredited by Georgetown University
FINAL DEADLINE FOR FALL 2011 – JUNE 1, 2011

Sponsored by The Fund for American Studies, the Institute combines substantive internships, courses for academic credit from Georgetown University, career development activities, site briefings and lectures led by policy experts. This fast-paced, fifteen-week residential program provides students from around the world with opportunities to gain the edge in today’s competitive job market and graduate school admissions, and experience the excitement of Washington first-hand.

SAMPLE PAST INTERNSHIP SITES

Aerospace Industries Association
American Legislative Exchange Council
Children’s Rights Council
Congressional Offices
Eastman Kodak
First Book
Foreign Embassies
Institute for World Politics
New Leaders for New Schools
Philanthropy Roundtable
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of the Treasury
PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Internships – Competitive placements with government agencies, congressional offices, public policy groups, international affairs organizations and nonprofit organizations
Classes – 12 credit hours in political science and economics and from Georgetown University
Housing – Roommate matching and furnished Capitol Hill apartments in the heart of D.C.
Guest Lectures – With Washington’s top policy and economics experts
Exclusive Briefings – At the World Bank, State Department, U.S. Capitol and Federal Reserve
Leadership & Professional Development – Leadership, mentoring and career building activities
Networking – Interaction with seasoned professionals and student leaders from around the world
Scholarships – Generous scholarships are awarded based on merit and financial need
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Detailed information on the program may be found at http://www.DCinternships.org/CS. Applications will be reviewed and accepted in a rolling basis until June 1, 2011 for the fall program and until November 1, 2011 for the spring program. Students are encouraged to apply early in order to receive priority scholarship consideration and internship placement.

For more information and an online application, please visit our website http://www.DCInternships.org or contact Mary Connell, Recruitment and Admissions Director at mconnell@tfas.org or 1-800-741-6964.

Please visit this website to request an informational brochure: https://www.DCinternships.org/tfas/brochure/index.asp

1706 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009

This is a commercial message.

Student Fellowship @ Center for the Humanities

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

Student Fellowship
Center for the Humanities

Calling Class of 2012

Application Deadline:  March 25, 2011

Please visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/chum and follow the Student Fellowship link for application

All members of the junior class are invited to apply for a semester-long Student Fellowship at the Center for the Humanities during the 2011-12 academic year. Wesleyan’s is among the first such university humanities centers established and serves to bring together Wesleyan faculty, students and visiting scholars for extended exploration of selected subjects. Our 2011-12 themes are “Fact and Artifact” (Fall semester) and “Visceral States: Affect and Civic Life” (Spring semester).  Descriptions of these themes are appended below.

Four Student Fellowships are awarded by the Center’s Advisory Board for each semester.  Student Fellows share an office at the Center and take part in Center activities. Among these events are the Center’s Monday lecture series; colloquial discussions on Tuesdays, 10:30-1:00; and occasional Center conferences. One course credit is awarded for a Student Fellow’s participation in the Center’s activities.

Applicants for a Student Fellowship must be planning to do a senior project (an honors thesis) on a topic related to the Center theme for the year.  The project need not be underway at the time of the application.  The themes, “Fact and Artifact” and “Visceral States: Affect and Civic Life,” are broadly construed and connect with projects and problems across the disciplines. Faculty Fellows who will work at the Center during Fall semester are Professors Aksamija (Art History), Autry (Sociology), Fullilove (History), Stark (Sociology and Environmental Studies), and Tucker (History, SISP, FGSS). Faculty Fellows who will work at the Center during the spring semester are Professors Chakravarti (Government and Social Studies), Kauanui (American Studies and Anthropology), Rodriguez Mosquera (Psychology), Visvardi (Classical Studies), and Wright (African American Studies and History). There will also several Visiting Research Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows.

Applications for student fellowships are due at the Center by
Wednesday, March 25th.

We will let you know of the Center Advisory Board’s decision by April 6.  If you have any questions, please call the Center at extension 3044.

Summer internships

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

Just received this email. It might interest some of you students who are still looking for something to do this summer:

How will you choose to spend your summer?

Join the millions of volunteers, public servants and nonprofit professionals who heard the call to serve in the nation’s capital.

The Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary Service offers you a chance to put your talents towards affecting change. Spend your summer in service while getting a hands-on learning experience in Washington, DC.

This summer’s IPVS application deadline has been extended to March 25, 2011 with scholarship funding available. You still have the opportunity to be placed in an internship that puts you on the front-lines of our nation’s recovery and renewal.

Spend your summer taking action and making an impact in the community. With IPVS you can:

Provide families with educational programs that combat childhood obesity.
Help to advance public health by conducting intake interviews.
Facilitate enrichment opportunities for at-risk youth that encourage future successes.
Translate legal service documents and consultations for low-income immigrants.
Raise money and awareness for diseases that affect millions.
Provide direct emergency services to clients at a homeless shelter.
Research nonprofit policy and report on agency benefits.
Engage the local community in a park clean-up that revitalizes urban green spaces.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
To take advantage of the extended deadline, please contact Mary Connell, Director of Recruitment and Admissions at mconnell@tfas.org or 800.741.6964. We will work with you to help you complete your application and ensure that it qualifies for the extended deadline.

For more information or to start an application, please visit our website at http://www.DCinternships.org/IPVS.

1706 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009

Wesleyan Alum speaks about new book: includes Africa case studies

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

WESeminar: Youth at War, Youth Building Peace, Youth on the Margins

As the next generation of leaders, young people are key players in creating sustainable peace in areas torn apart by war. In conflict zones youth constitute a reservoir brimming with potential energy, ready to be channeled for good or ill. Yet, what causes some young people to return to the life of a fighter while others choose to work for a better future? Stephanie Schwartz ’08 will lead a discussion on youth’s increasing impact on modern civil conflict and how the international policy community is reacting.

Presenter: Stephanie Schwartz ’08 is a Program Specialist at the U.S. Institute of Peace and author of Youth in Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Agents of Change, a book based on her Wesleyan Senior Thesis

Hansel Lecture Hall (001), Public Affairs Center, 3 pm

DC Internships

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

I don’t know much about this specific program but it may interest some of you.

ANNOUNCEMENT
*******************************************************

CAPITAL SEMESTER
January 12 – April 30, 2011
Georgetown University , Washington , DC
http://www.DCinternships.org/CS
Spring 2011 Application Deadline: November 1, 2010

Sponsored by The Fund for American Studies, the Capital Semester program combines a substantive professional experience in public policy, international affairs or economics for 25 hours a week with a challenging academic experience at Georgetown University. This fast-paced, fifteen-week residential program provides students from around the world with opportunities to gain an edge in today’s competitive job market and graduate school admissions, and experience the excitement of Washington first-hand.

SAMPLE PAST INTERNSHIP SITES

Aerospace Industries Association
American Legislative Exchange Council
Children’s Rights Council
Congressional Offices
Eastman Kodak
First Book
Foreign Embassies
Institute for World Politics
New Leaders for New Schools
Philanthropy Roundtable
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of the Treasury
PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Internships – Competitive placements with government agencies, congressional offices, public policy groups, international affairs organizations and nonprofit organizations
Classes – 12 credit hours in political science and economics and from Georgetown University
Housing – Roommate matching and f urnished Capitol Hill apartments in the heart of D.C.
Guest Lectures – With Washington’s top policy and economics experts
Exclusive Briefings – At the World Bank, State Department, Pentagon and Federal Reserve
Leadership & Professional Development – Leadership, mentoring and career building activities
Networking – Interaction with seasoned professionals and student leaders from around the world
Scholarships – Generous scholarships are awarded based on merit and financial need
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the final application deadline of November 1. Details about the program and an online application may be found at http://www.DCinternships.org/CS. Questions may be directed to Dana Faught, Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator, at dfaught@tfas.org or 202.986.0384.
Fund For American Studies
1706 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009

Voter Information Guides and Connecticut

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

Just a quick question for those of you who have lived in Connecticut for some time: Why is there no voter information guide?

Back in California (where I used to live) the voter guide that is provided to all voters runs to almost 128 pages.  Here is their website:

Voter Information Guide November 2, 2010 | California Secretary of State.

And local elections in California also get their own guides with information on local candidates and measures.

But here I am in Connecticut, teaching political science, and I’ll admit it, I have no clue what the issues are going to be in the coming election.  There is spotty news coverage of the campaigns for Governor and Senator.  But beyond that?

So this is my point: Connecticut needs a voter guide.   If it is out there and I missed it, just let me know. Otherwise, I think it is completely irresponsible for us to have elections where voters have no coordinated way of knowing what the issues and candidates are all about. The voter guide should be mailed to every voter prior to primary elections (how else are we supposed to know when these happen?) and the general November elections.

For New Students: Getting Ready for College

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

Today and tomorrow I get to meet some of our new freshmen students. I enjoy this process (though I’m not a big fan of our unnecessarily complicated course registration system which we all have to use). The students here are really a key to making this such a fantastic job for me.

Last year, I wrote a post with “advice for new students”. I would mostly stress the same points again this year (you can reread the original post for more detail):

  1. Ask questions
  2. Focus on learning how to learn
  3. Learn skills, especially writing and quantitative reasoning
  4. Challenge yourself
  5. Get involved with university life, but not over-involved
  6. Consider study abroad
  7. Connect with students, staff and faculty

Wesleyan can really provide all of you with an incredible start to your adult lives and post-baccalaureate careers. So take advantage of this experience! It really is whatever you want to make of it.

The Chronicle Compares College Rankings…

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

30 Ways to Rate a College – Measuring Stick – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

I like the graph here which displays all of the criteria prominent ranking systems use. Above is just a small bit of that image. But I think the bottom-line here is that it can be useful to look at many different sources, paying attention to their various distinctive criteria, when attempting to form an impression of a school.

Summer: Work, Vacation, and Balance

/ profmikenelson / Leave a comment

A popular question I get during the summer is, “how is your break?” I wish that I could say that my “break” was wonderful, but that wouldn’t really answer the question.

The fact is that we don’t really get a break as professors. Summers are when we try to squeeze in all of our major research projects, our side projects in service and teaching, and — just like most people — fit in a little vacation time (about two weeks for me this year) with the family. So my level of activity did not really change much when classes stopped. I still have gone into the office everyday. However, it is very nice to have the change.

So what did my summer consist of? Revising a book manuscript, creating a new web resource for students on writing and research (will be tested this fall and hopefully made public next spring), writing letters of recommendation, redesigning our African Studies website and gearing up for my new administrative responsibilities there. Oh, and trying to stay on top of about six other research papers that I really need to just finish and send out.

And of course, doing this while experiencing all of the joy (and sleeplessness) the parent of a one-year old can experience.

The good news, is that I enjoy all of this!