I’m Angelica Nahalka, a rising sophomore planning to major in Public Health, International Development, and French. I am traveling all the way to Switzerland this summer to be an intern at the International Centre for Migration, Health and Development, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring the health and wellbeing of migrants across the world. Through research, training and policy advocacy, they give governments, UN agencies and any other interested parties the tools they need to improve the welfare of those affected by migration.

I am going to be assisting with the research-based aspect of the ICMHD’s mission. While I don’t have my specific tasks planned out yet, interns at the ICMHD generally conduct research on one of the organization’s many projects all over Europe, Africa and Asia, and attend meetings with its partners. This will be an exciting and invaluable opportunity to experience the work that goes into planning development interventions and what being a development actor might entail.

I will also have the incredible, and undoubtedly instructive experience of living on my own in a foreign country. I have just gotten my living arrangements set up, and will be sharing a room with another 18-to-30 year-old woman in a youth hostel located in the Geneva’s picturesque “old-town” area. I hope to improve my French while I’m in Geneva, and am planning to spend the next few weeks learning some basic German.

In terms of how I got this internship, the message here is that it never hurts to ask. Originally, I wanted to participate in Tulane’s Geneva Summer for Development program, where students also intern for two weeks with the ICMHD. After realizing I wouldn’t be able to afford to go, I asked my Intro to International Development professor, Dr. Colin Crawford, who will be an instructor for the program, if the ICMHD would be willing to take me on as an independent intern. I am thrilled that everything worked out and am ready to develop my research, language and professional skills while I’m in Geneva.

Growing up as a Vietnamese-American child with a precocious affection for science, I was often uncomfortable with the disparities between western modern medicine and my family’s antiquated home remedies.

When I complained of headaches/menstrual cramps/stomach aches/colds/allergies/general lethargy, adult relatives would prescribe that I rub dâu xanh (literally translated as “green oil”; active ingredients: methanol and methyl salicylate – a natural product of wintergreen plants) on the affected area, or swipe some underneath my nose and breath deeply. It has a refreshing minty aroma, but its health effects are otherwise dubious. Even stranger is the practice of cạo gió (literally translated as “scratching the wind,” but can be referred to as coining), which is often used in Vietnamese households to treat colds, respiratory problems, fevers, and fatigue. A person would rub the oil onto the patient’s back, and then vigorously and repeatedly drag a coin from the base of the patient’s neck to the lower back until prominent red abrasions appear on the skin. The tradition stems from a belief that illness resulted from imbalanced winds within the patient, and coining could release these winds and restore a healthy balance. The rubbing draws blood to the skin’s surface and may stimulate circulation, while the oils may have analgesic properties – explaining some of the relief reported by coining proponents. However, none of that is yet confirmed through scientific research.

This summer, I’m honored to be going to the University Medical Center (UMC) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to get a closer look at Vietnam’s modern medicine. The hospital is associated with one of the top medical schools in the country, and is regularly used as a teaching clinic for students and foreign physicians. I expect it will be nothing like my home remedy stories. There, I will be granted my first experience with physicians’ day-to-day, in a variety of fields. I will spend approximately a week shadowing a physician in general medicine, internal medicine, emergency, and surgery. I’ll also perform duties such as transporting materials and escorting patients throughout the hospital.

I have volunteered at the Children’s Hospital here in New Orleans before, and once shadowed my pediatrician for a day; but I have never shadowed extensively. The opportunity to learn the real stresses and procedures that physicians experience in their career is invaluable to me in my own career pursuits. I am especially thrilled to be studying medicine outside of the United States because it allows me to learn about health care systems different from the one I grew up in. The chance to spend a summer abroad, of course, is a sweet bonus.

Initially, my goal was to find a summer program in which I could gain an intimate look at medicine in practice abroad. I knew that the experience was one I was sorely lacking. After many hours scouring the Internet and asking around, I found several enticing programs – with hefty fees that I was unwilling to pay. I decided to find a position on my own to avoid overhead costs. I began sending out emails to hospitals in Vietnam, and eventually came into contact with a UMC physician who agreed to help me on my journey. I’m glad that I decided to ask the hospitals directly, as it gave me more control over the structure of my internship. Now, I am dying to finish finals week and begin what promises to be a memorable summer.

My name is Hannah Ryan, and I will be a senior this upcoming fall! I am majoring in Public Health, and after graduation will be continuing onto complete my MHA at Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. I found my internship for this summer at one of Tulane’s Center for Public Service’s Internship Fairs.

This summer I am interning with teachNOLA. teachNOLA is a nonprofit teacher preparation program that “is designed to transform talented professionals into great teachers through practical, classroom-centered coursework, with a sharp focus on core skills.” teachNOLA is dedicated to “training a generation of great teachers who believe that change starts in the classroom.” The main office of teachNOLA is located in downtown New Orleans, but this summer I will be working at different training sites throughout the local area, as well as working in the office.

As an Operations Intern with teachNOLA I will be managing logistics for teaching hiring fairs, as well as developing strategies to collect licensing materials from teachers who have not yet turned them in. I will be following up with teachers about licensing documentation, which will be important to ensure that the teachers are on track to receive their license. One important skill I will be building is proficiency in Excel so I am able to quickly and efficiently communicate with teachers. I will also be helping to manage training/hiring logistics.

This summer, I hope to learn a lot about how a non-profit functions on a day-to-day basis, as well as develop various computer and communication skills. I am really looking forward to working with new people, and learning from every opportunity I take this summer. I am very interested in education, and think the exposure to teachNOLA and how it functions will be insightful into the changing education system.

Until next time,

Hannah

The company I will be interning for this summer is Boston Magazine as the digital health editorial intern. Boston Magazine is Boston’s premiere magazine that features a wide array of investigative pieces, narratives, interviews, and expository features. Boston Magazine has been around for more than 40 years and has been named among the three best city magazines more than seven times by the City and Regional Magazine Association. As a city, Boston is a hub of medicine, education, music, restaurants, and finance with a unique and dynamic culture. Boston Magazine’s writers, editors, and designers provide a variety of insights and information into this vibrant city.

My role as an intern will be to write about five clips per week that will be published on the website’s health section. Additionally, I will get one or two printed articles in the magazine. There are two categories in which I’ll be writing, the national health sector and the Boston health sector. This summer is the first time Boston Magazine is launching national stories on their page so I will get to write some articles about health news and information going on throughout the country. On the other hand, I’ll also be writing strictly Boston based articles about different health news in the Boston area.

I found my internship through Boston Magazine’s website and realized that it was the perfect position for what I love to do and combined my passion for writing and health. I then interviewed with the health editor (my boss) and afterwards offered the position.

I’m extremely excited to begin this internship because it is exactly what I love to do. I hope to further my knowledge of writing, especially health writing, and also get to know my own city on a deeper level. I hope to enhance my research skills and communication skills, as contacting people and doing interviews is part of the job requirement. Lastly, I hope to make some strong networking connections and take advantage of every opportunity given to me during my internship.

Over the course of the summer, readers will have the opportunity to follow 16 Tulane University students as they share their stories about life as an intern. 11 of our blog authors will be located in 7 different cities in the U.S. [Boston (2), Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans (2), New York City (2), Seattle, and Washington, D.C. (2)], and 5 will be interning internationally (Rwanda, Switzerland (2), Vietnam, and the Philippines).

If you want to learn about internships from the perspective of a Tulane student then this blog is for you! The wish is that you will find the posts inspiring, encouraging, and full of helpful tips and advice.

Good luck to our blog authors this summer and thank you in advance for sharing your stories!

Sincerely,

Allen Thomas, Ph.D., Assistant Director – Experiential Engagement, Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT)