Across the Pond with Rachel Wei
Hi! I’m Rachel, a sophomore from Rockville, MD majoring in HOD and Biology and minoring in English Literature. Although I have a wide variety of interests that I could explore to fulfill the Immersion requirement, I’ve chosen to use my HOD Capstone Internship as my Immersion project. I just found it easier and less stressful, since it’s already part of my graduation requirement for my major.
Since most students complete their Capstone internship in the Spring of Junior year, I wanted to start exploring where I could intern. I’ve heard from other upperclassmen that some students get stuck with less interesting and productive internships when they don’t plan ahead, so I arranged a meeting with the HOD Capstone Internship Director Kristen Tompkins. In our brief, 30 minute meeting, we chatted about the basic hour requirements and components of the Capstone internship. I was also able to ask Professor Tompkins about interning in London, which is the HOD location I’m most drawn to. Because I’m double majoring, I know I won’t be able to study abroad in addition to completing my HOD internship. That’s why I wanted to look into ways I could combine the two, and settled on trying to land an internship in London.
Professor Thompkins suggested I speak with a few of the students who interned in London this past semester. Every year, the Capstone Internship hosts a “London Tea Party” where students speak about their experiences interning in London. Although I missed this year’s information session, I was able to find students’ names and where they interned on the HOD Capstone blog. I contacted a current senior who had interned at the U.S. Embassy in London and grabbed dinner with her. She offered me some valuable advice regarding how to apply for the position, when applications typically come out, and reassured me that conducting my Capstone internship in London would be a great experience.
I’m excited to continue my Immersion planning in the upcoming months. I’m looking forward to being able to put what I’ve been learning about and practicing in my HOD classes into action across the pond.
Rachel Wei, Class of 2022
Human and Organizational Development & Biology Major
English Literature Minor
Rachel Wei is from Rockville, Maryland. She is double majoring in Human and Organizational Development, and Biology, with a minor in English Literature. In addition to writing and editing for The Hustler, Rachel is a Member of the Board of Directors for Vanderbilt Student Communications and an active member of Vanderbilt Mock Trial, where she is also the VP of External Operations. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading sci-fi dystopian novels, investigative journalism pieces and traveling.