My CEPS internship help me to grown professionally and personally, apply classroom learning in the workplace, and expand my network in higher education. My internship taught me to apply other perspectives, especially the social sciences, to educational policy and practice (CEPS Program Objective A). Much of my CEPS coursework included philosophy, history, and the humanities, while my internship challenged me to apply more of the social sciences (research methods, psychology, etcetera) on the job, as I was working in the field of student development. The internship especially related to the research and evaluation courses that I have taken as a CEPS student. For example, I created surveys to generate feedback on the Weekend of Excellence Event and Rome Start Orientation, in order to measure program outcomes and implement changes for the following year. Additionally, this internship built practical skills on the knowledge base of policy analysis and comparativeeducation that I gained through my ELPS 405 and 455 classes, respectively.

My main goal for the internship was to learn how policies, programs, and orientations are created to retain and support students, and especially international students, within universities. Although Loyola does not have many specific programs to target international student retention at the moment, courses like UNIV 102 and orientation programming are some of the efforts that I got to participate in through the internship. My observations of a general and practical lack of support from the administration for international student programs dovetails with CEPS Program objective C: CEPS graduates critically assess the methodological, epistemological and ethical foundations of research. I would also add that I’m able to critically evaluate policy and practices through my internship experience.

Finally, this internship was important to my personal and professional development because it helped me to gain additional skills that are required of academic advisors and international educators alike. I am now able to confidently submit applications for academic advising jobs, having interned in one of Loyola’s advising units. CEPS program objective B states, “CEPS graduates possess an independent and specific area of expertise.” I believe that I have been able to further develop myself as an international educator through my internship experience, developing expertise at the intersection of international student advising and academic advising. I am interested in furthering my career in one of these two areas and look forward to continuing to merge my interests and expertise, while promoting education policy and practice that supports the internationalization of university campuses.

As I mentioned earlier, this experience also allowed me to broaden my network at Loyola and meet the academic advisors in FSYA and other units. My internship supervisor has become a mentor and job reference for me, as I start looking to further my career outside of my current position. I have also been able to utilize my new contacts in the department for networking with colleagues outside of Loyola. Overall, this experience provided me with invaluable professional as well as personal development.