by Kara Furlong
The Office of Active Citizenship and Service (OACS) will launch a new internship program in the nation’s capital next summer. The Vanderbilt Internship Experience in Washington (VIEW) will combine a public service internship, community service, Vanderbilt alumni networking and a residential living experience in the Washington, D.C., area.

Twenty students are expected to participate in VIEW’s flagship program, which begins in June 2005 and runs for eight weeks. Though political science majors are a natural fit for a living-learning experience in the hub of democracy, the program is open to rising juniors and seniors from all fields of study.

“The goal of each of the internship opportunities is to enable students – regardless of major – to see public service as a way of life, not just an activity,” said Mark Dalhouse, director of the OACS and a chief organizer of the VIEW program. “Another goal is to help students understand the formation and implementation of policy that directly affects the volunteerism they do here in Nashville.”

Internship sites include the D.C. bureau of CNN, the Council on Excellence in Government, the Council on the Americas, the Arms Control Association, the Smithsonian, St. Albans School of Public Service and the offices of Tennessee senators Lamar Alexander and Bill Frist and representatives Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn, among others. Each participant will be placed in an internship prior to arriving in D.C., with VIEW coordinators collaborating with the host agencies to find ideal fits.

The VIEW program will feature fully furnished housing and amenities within a residential community in Rosslyn, Va., overseen by Vanderbilt’s Division of Student Life. A cornerstone of the residential experience is planned programming, which will be facilitated by on-site director Britta Watters, assistant director of the OACS. In addition to acting as a residential adviser to the participating students, Watters will regularly monitor and evaluate internships, network with area alumni to create opportunities for VIEW students and plan and participate in community service projects with the students. 

Watters will also meet with participants once a week for three-hour seminar sessions, which will include group discussion and reflection, guest speakers and programs involving student groups from other universities.

Vanderbilt’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Federal Relations, under the direction of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations Jeff Vincent, has served as a valuable resource in planning the program and will continue to serve as home base for the seminar component. “Jeff is providing us with classroom space – that wonderful conference room they have – and is facilitating speakers for the class,” said Dalhouse. “Jeff is also providing an internship for us and helping us make great contacts with the alums in D.C., as is Eileen Cunningham (Vanderbilt’s associate director of alumni programs) – her help has been invaluable.” 

Many VIEW activities will be coordinated with the D.C. chapter of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association. Participants will be able to take advantage of a broad range of experiences, such as cultural events at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, invitation-only lectures at area universities, special tours at historic sites, ethnic festivals, baseball games in nearby Baltimore and hiking excursions in the Appalachians.

In addition to internships, seminars and alumni-sponsored events, VIEW participants will be required to complete a minimum of 12 community service hours while in Washington. Service opportunities will be posted online on the VIEW site and within the residential quarters. On-site staff will work with participants to coordinate service opportunities and meet with them on a regular basis to reflect on their experiences.

Students will also participate in an Alumni-Intern Service Day, in which they will partner with alumni to facilitate and execute a service project. “Another aspect of VIEW is that it offers the students an easy way to make great connections with Vanderbilt alums in D.C. who are making policy and who are among the key players in Washington,” said Dalhouse.

While VIEW is currently a non-credit-bearing program, the OACS can facilitate contacts with faculty who may be interested in arranging independent study courses for participating students, Dalhouse said.

For more information about the program, contact Mark Dalhouse or Britta Watters in the OACS at 343-7878. To read about VIEW online or to download an application, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/oacs/VIEW.html.

Posted 11/18/04