An Iowa College in the Liberal Arts Tradition
Internship Stories
Emily Alcock
When: Summer 2016
Where: Border Angels, San Diego, CA
Majors: Spanish, International Studies
For six weeks over the summer, Emily completed an internship as a community outreach coordinator for Border Angels in San Diego, California. She worked with Luther grad Marlon Henriquez ’15 to facilitate free immigration clinics and lead student groups to the US-Mexico border. Emily also started an initiative to donate leftover school lunches to refugee camps and provided water for migrants in desert areas. Her experience showed her firsthand what difficulties people experience as migrants in that region. Because of her internship in San Diego, Emily feels she has grown as a global citizen and has solidified her plans to become an immigration lawyer.
Kyla Grau
When: January 2016
Where: Le Grand Théâtre de Tours, Tours, France
Majors: Music and French
Kyla spent the month of January at Le Grand Théâtre de Tours, an opera house in France: the perfect setting for a music and French major. During this time, she was able to work with stage managers, technicians, and performers. Since she collaborated with so many people, Kyla found that communication skills were very important. She was surprised by how comfortable she became with French after hearing and speaking it all day. By the end of the internship, she felt confident in the language and was able to take the initiative necessary to be a successful employee. The most rewarding part of working at an opera house was opening night, when Kyla was given the best seat in the house and finally got to see her hard work and passions for French and music come to life.
Christine Morrow
When: January 2014
Where: l'Hôtel Dieu, Pont l'Abbé, France; Centre Hospitalier de Cornouaille, Quimper, France
Major: Nursing
Christine Morrow spent one month observing in hospitals in France. She spent time in l'Hôtel Dieu, Pont l'Abbé, as well as at the Centre Hospitalier de Cornouaille. Despite the limitations due to language and medical barriers, she was able to serve the hospitals in numerous ways. Some days included leading daily patient activities and teaching them about American and Breton culture. Other days she shadowed nurses, checking vitals and blood sugar levels. Christine enjoyed the rewarding experience because of the many lessons that she learned about French and American approaches to healthcare. She also gained confidence in her French speaking skills, especially with medical vocabulary. As a result, she hopes to take her nursing career abroad in the future.
Hannah Tulgren
When: January 2016
Where: Norway House, Minneapolis, MN
Major: Art
Hannah Tulgren is a sophomore majoring in art and minoring in management. During the month of January, she worked with the Norway House art gallery, café, and bookstore located in Minneapolis, MN. Her internship focused on marketing and project management, which allowed her to blend her interests in art and business administration. Hannah found the internship to be incredibly valuable because it gave her an inside look at a volunteer-run non-profit. During her experience, she learned the importance of communication, time management, and collaboration. She also discovered a great deal about herself and her goals for life after Luther.
Alexis Hove
When: January 2016
Where: Norway House, Minneapolis, MN
Majors: Nordic Studies, Art
Over the month of January, Alexis completed an internship at Norway House, a nonprofit in Minneapolis that aims to bridge the gap between Americans and contemporary Norway. She had the chance to work in a gallery setting and gained customer service experience working at the front desk. She was also able to organize a Norway House event for staff and members. Additionally, Alexis aided in the planning of a mural that will be painted on the side of a new building. The mural will honor the victims of the terrorist attack in Oslo and Utøya in 2011. This internship was a perfect fit for Alexis, and she enjoyed the opportunity to work with so many people who shared her passions.
Sarah Hermeier
When: January, 2015
Where: CataCap
Major: Russian Studies/Accounting
For the month of January, Sarah interned at a private equity firm in Copenhagen, Denmark called CataCap. This organization purchases small Danish companies with potential for growth, builds them up as much as possible, and resells their purchase after about five years. Sarah’s internship involved two main projects. The first project was an analysis of which companies might benefit from being purchased by a private equity firm. Although Sarah does not speak or read Danish, she was able to navigate the financial reports and included over one hundred companies in her analysis work. The second project required her to research licensing companies since CataCap was considering buying one. It was new, unknown territory and they were unaware of how difficult it might be to resell. After her month abroad, Sarah is comfortable in a small business setting and feels working internationally has removed the fear from living in an unfamiliar setting with a future job placement.
Clay Walker
When: January, 2014
Where: Barranco and Punta Gorda, Belize
Clay was able to complete a biology internship in Belize during January term 2014. He spent time with the local Garifuna people, one of several different cultures that live harmoniously in the area. While there he worked with Garfuna doctor trained in both western medicine as well as traditional healing methods. This experience allowed him to see how medicine is practiced in a small town in a developing nation.
Emily England
When: Summer, 2013
Where: Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum shares and preserves the living cultural heritage of Norwegian immigrants to America. Emily’s internship was supported by the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, which seeks to promote and preserve the story of American agriculture by assisting museums and various other cultural sites with agricultural components. Most of her time was spent on the third floor of the historic mill by taking an inventory of agricultural implements and tools, making the collection more accessible for research and exhibition. At the end of her internship, Emily was able to reunite a number of stray pieces with their original catalog records through diligent research although many of them resembled scrap wood. She feels this internship gave her a great deal of collections management experience, taught her sufficient inventorying skills, and helped her understand how to work independently on a project from start to finish.