Katie Sullivan ’27
Staff Writer
With the start of classes also comes the start of outside-the-classroom opportunities such as Semester Away Programs, Study Abroad, and the Academic Internship Program. The Academic Internship Program (AIP) is offered to third and fourth students; the program entails completing an internship over the course of the semester while also completing a once-a-week seminar corresponding with their internship. Spring seminars include Policy and Politics in America: The Road to the White House Continues- The 2024 Presidential Primaries, Social Justice and the Law, How Medical Clinicians Reason, The Business of Sports, Exploring Data Science, and Meditation and Mindfulness in the Workplace.
Last semester, the Policy and Politics in American Government: The Road to the White House seminar hosted guest speakers open to all Holy Cross students. Speakers included former governor of Florida and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush, CNN Political Analysts Margaret Hoover and John Avlon, and Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Participating students are required to spend 8 hours per week on their associated internship. Owen Whaley ‘24 is currently a participant in the Policy and Politics in America Seminar with Congressman Tim Bishop and Peter Flaherty and is interning at the Worcester District Attorney’s Office. Whaley states, “I’m working at my intern site 8-10 hours per week, divided between Thursday and Friday. The work’s very manageable, mostly because it’s fun and exciting to me.” In addition to his internship, each seminar meets for two and a half hours a week. Whaley says, “It’s still early in the semester, but I knew participating in AIP was the right decision within the first class session. Congressman Bishop and Attorney Flaherty are both very kind and eager to help, and I have a lot to learn from their diverse professional backgrounds.”
Whaley’s decision to participate in the Academic Internship program was influenced by his previous internship. “Last summer, I interned at the Dismas Family Farm in Oakham, Massachusetts, a 12-bed working farm for former prisoners and recovering addicts.” At the Dismas, he “worked with our staff, our staff attorney, to offer pro bono legal representation to our clients and indigent defendants throughout the county.” This semester, his internship at the District Attorney’s Office allowed him to gain experience on the prosecution’s side. “I wanted to gain experience on both sides of the courtroom before applying to law school. And yet my work isn’t all that different – at the DA’s Office, crime prevention is as big a goal as prosecution.”
The academic internship program offers students a fantastic opportunity to combine the traditional classroom setting while learning outside the classroom.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Holy Cross Website
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