A grant from the Freeman Foundation for a UM student internship program in Eastern Asia has been renewed for 2019. Summer intern grantees for 2018 include (front row, from left) Meredith Brown, Tyler Caple, Emily Rodriguez, Emma Scott, Tina Ng, Navodit Paudel, Sydney Bush, Jasmine Nguyen and Lucy De la Cruz, and (back row, from left) David Pfaehler, Jordan Holman, Sarah Liese, Sarah Berry, Mo Karzon, Stewart Eaton and Daria Herasymova. Submitted photo by Joe Worthem
OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi students can again participate in a select internship program in Eastern Asia next summer, thanks to the renewal of a grant from the Freeman Foundation of Stowe, Vermont.
The program, UM Experiential Learning in Eastern Asia, will allow 18 undergraduates to complete a summer internship of at least eight weeks in summer 2019. Each recipient will receive a $7,500 participation stipend from UM – with $5,000 of that coming from the Freeman Foundation grant and the other $2,500 provided by the university’s Office of Global Engagement and the successful applicants’ respective Ole Miss school(s) or college.
Last year was the first year UM received the grant, and 17 students participated. The university recently received news the grant was renewed for summer 2019 internships.
“We are excited that the Freeman Foundation has renewed the internship grant based on the work we put into designing this new program,” said Oliver Dinius, executive director of the Croft Institute for International Studies. “It lines up perfectly with both the university’s and the Croft Institute’s institutional goals for internationalization and experiential learning.
“We will draw on the experience of our first cohort to get many more students excited about this opportunity.”
Students interested in learning more about the program are encouraged to attend upcoming information sessions. The sessions, held in Croft Institute, Room 305, are scheduled for noon Wednesday (Oct. 17), noon Oct. 23, 4 p.m. Oct. 24 and noon Oct. 31. Additional information sessions are being scheduled for the week of Nov. 5-9.
“Students interested in the program will learn about the application process, the benefits, paths to secure an internship and hear from past Freeman grantees,” said Blair McElroy, UM senior international officer and director of study abroad.
UM Experiential Learning in Eastern Asia funds internships, not study abroad programs. Grantees must intern full time, at least 20 hours per week, for a minimum of eight weeks.
Freeman grantees must be full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students in good academic standing in the fall of 2018, spring 2019 and fall 2019. Applicants cannot be in their last year of school. Students do not have to be U.S. citizens but cannot use the grant to intern in their home country.
International students must be four-year students to apply. There are no foreign language proficiency requirements to receive a grant, but proficiency in a relevant foreign language may strengthen an application.
The priority application deadline is Nov. 30.
Dinius administers the program and works with Joshua Howard, Croft associate professor of history and international studies; Bree Starnes, Croft coordinator for alumni relations and career planning; Minjoo Oh, associate professor of sociology; and McElroy to design the application process, select award recipients and assist students as they prepare for internships.
The goal of the Freeman Foundation’s grant is to help students gain real-life experience while interacting regularly with local populations. Established in 1994 by the estate of AIG co-founder Mansfield Freeman, the foundation’s general mission is “to strengthen the bonds of friendship between this country and those of the Far East” and “to stimulate an exchange of ideas in economic and cultural fields which will help create mutual understanding.”
Headed by Mansfield’s grandson, Graeme Freeman, the foundation donates annually to programs such as study abroad scholarships for Asian and American students and The National Consortium for Teaching About Asia, which has supported the Croft Institute’s efforts to strengthen teaching about East Asia for more than 15 years.
This grant lets the Croft Institute and other participating campus units deliver on the university’s commitment to educate and engage global citizens and to support experiential learning, two core principles in the university’s Flagship Forward strategic plan.
Students chosen for UM Experiential Learning in Eastern Asia will learn how a foreign culture affects the work environment and help prepare them to succeed.
Grant recipients from summer 2018 were Meredith Brown and Emma Scott, both of Oxford; Sarah Berry, Stewart Eaton, Mo Karzon and Jasmine Nguyen, all of Brandon; Lucy De la Cruz, of Southaven; Tina Ng, of Walls; Sydney Bush, of Gulfport; Jordan Holman, of Petal; Tyler Caple, of Huntsville, Alabama; Sarah Liese, of St. Louis; Scott Givhan, of West Hollywood, California; Emily Rodriguez, of Portland, Oregon; David Pfaehler, of Independence, Kentucky; Daria Herasymova, of Ukraine; and Navodit Paudel, of Nepal.
For more information about the UM Experiential Learning in Eastern Asia program, including eligible countries, the application process, recipient responsibilities and more, visit http://croft.olemiss.edu/home/freeman-internships-in-east-asia.