Through Friends of Fettes College Inc., opportunities exist for young Old Fettesians to gain valuable work experience in the USA. Internships are popular in the USA as they provide young people with the option of work experience in real jobs under the supervision of supportive professionals. Usually, the work experience is in an area that the student is considering as a future career.
The conditions of internships vary but usually these posts are not salaried, although support with living costs and accommodation may be provided. Internships may be part of a year out or more short-term, occupying a vacation.
Helen
Gunn(Ar2000) in D.C.
Surreal,
dangerous, hectic, fun and inspiring. These effectively sum up the two months I
have spent living and working as an intern in Washington D.C. “Intern?” Most
Britons are either unfamiliar with this American phenomenon or otherwise
associate interns with the much publicised shenanigans in Washington of late.
Misconceptions aside, my internship was not on Capitol Hill but in nearby
Virginia, as one of three Corporate and Asian Affairs interns working for the
US-Taiwan Business Council. The Fettes connection was simple, Rupert
Hammond-Chambers (G86) is currently the president of the organisation and heads
an enthusiastic and friendly, albeit very small staff. My role involved a
significant amount of reading, specifically news sources from Taiwan and China
from which I was able to considerably increase my initially limited knowledge of
Asian affairs. Every Wednesday afternoon we all crowded into the conference room
to discuss current news issues, and latterly, the impact of the terrorist
attacks on Asia and cross-strait issues. As interns, we were actively encouraged
to attend seminars and lectures relevant to the work of the council and
succeeded in scheduling at least one such excursion each week. These ranged from
a lecture by the Indian ambassador to the U.S. to a talk entitled 'The Coming
Collapse of China' by renowned author Gordon C. Chang. Initially, I was involved
in the preparation for our Annual Joint Business Conference although this was
invariably cancelled in the wake of 9/11. (Not least because the Boston hotel it
was scheduled to be held in was stormed by the F.B.I. who extracted three
terrorist suspects just before the conference was about to commence.
On September 11, I was watching the news bulletins on the World Trade
Towers before glancing out of the office window at the Pentagon, my view of
which was quickly becoming obscured by thick, black, acrid smoke clouds. At this
stage, only a couple of minutes after the attack, we didn't know what had
happened, so with everyone in shock and fear, we hastily evacuated our 17th
floor office. This in the flight path of planes flying from the nearby Reagan
National Airport.
Living behind the Supreme Court, we found ourselves in the middle of all
the police activity and soon became accustomed to the sight of armed officers at
every corner and trucks crammed full of heavily armed secret service officers
cruising by. It became normal not to pick up mail, to cross to the other side of
the street when walking past a mail van, to feel a little apprehensive when
riding the metro and to battle through news crews in order to reach the front
door of the house, to hear the incessant drone of firetrucks called out to
investigate suspicious packages, to take cipro, to debate the effectiveness of
gas masks, and so on. Watching the news in the evenings on television quickly
became too much and we eventually found ourselves going out more and more just
to escape and to make the most of our time.
Of course everything became different after the attacks, but I wouldn't
swap my experiences and I am deeply grateful to Rupert for providing this
opportunity. As the only Brit amongst my 11 flatmates, I found it fascinating to
compare the American reaction with that of British newspapers and friends from
home and feel as though I have gained a real insight. One thing that really
surprised me was the warm feeling toward the British and the genuine kindness
that I was shown. Instead of being scared in the plane on the way home, I was
thinking about how soon I could return.