Columbia College is pleased to announce the Alumni and Parent Internship Fund for 2012. The Alumni and Parent Internship Fund (APIF) is specifically designed to encourage Columbia College students to accept a quality internship which would foster their career exploration and build upon their academic studies, while alleviating some of the financial burden associated with unpaid internships.

Eligibility

Currently registered Columbia College students who meet the following criteria are eligible to apply:

• A rising junior or senior in good standing with at least a 3.0 G.P.A.
• A recipient of Columbia grant-based financial aid. If you are unsure if you receive grant-based financial aid, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid & Educational Financing.
• Secured an unpaid internship for summer 2012 prior to the application deadline.

Applicants who do not meet these criteria and incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please note, by submitting an application, you authorize the Center for Career Education to conduct academic, disciplinary and financial aid checks to confirm program eligibility and inform funding decisions. Certain University policy violations may disqualify you from consideration for the APIF program.

How to Apply

Information Sessions

Information about the Alumni and Parent Internship Fund will be presented during the fall 2011 semester as part of the "How to Fund an Unpaid Internship" workshops. In addition to providing information on how to create a successful fund application, these sessions will cover additional resources for seeking summer internship funding and general strategies for financing an unpaid or low-paying internship.

Fall 2011 Information Sessions
October 27, 2011 • 5 - 6 pm • CCE Conference Room, East Campus, Lower Level
November 11, 2011 • 2:30 - 3:15 pm • Northwest Corner Building, Room 501

Please check the Events Calendar for the most updated information and to register.

Application Timeline

Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Applications for the Alumni and Parent Internship Fund 2012 program must be submitted through the online APIF application and supporting documents must be submitted in full to Lionshare. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

April 25 - 27, 2012
Applications will be reviewed by the Alumni and Parent Internship Fund Committee. 

Week of May 1, 2012
Applicants will be notified of their status in the program (accepted or declined). 

About the Fund

The Alumni and Parent Internship Fund has limited availability, and the application process is highly selective. The fund has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Columbia College alumni/ae and parents who desire to foster students' participation in internships. They include:

• Class of 1954 Internship Stipend Fund - to provide support for one or more rising juniors or seniors with unpaid internships; preference for an internship in government or not-for-profit industries.
• Herman Family Foundation Internship - to provide support for a College junior (rising senior) for use in the summer following the academic year to hold an unpaid summer internship in the public sector. Preference will be given to an applicant who receives financial aid that requires summer savings from a job as part of his or her financial aid package with a preference given to a student who plans to pursue an internship overseas that is not affiliated with any religious organization.
• Linder (Harold F.) Summer Internship Fund - to assist College students in obtaining unpaid positions with companies where College alumni are employed. Students are not responsible for determining if alumni are present at internship sites - this responsibility will fall to the College.
• The Roger Lehecka Internship Fund - to be used for an undergraduate holding an unpaid internship; preference for juniors (rising seniors) who receive financial aid that require summer savings from a job as part of a financial aid package; preference for those with greatest financial need with a summer opportunity that will make the greatest difference to their life plans, and with demonstrated ability to use the opportunities wisely.
• Clark Tandon Family Fund - to support summer internships with a preference for students who have an interest in creative writing.
• Other Alumni and Parent Support - to assist College students holding unpaid summer internships.

About the Program

Columbia College students selected as Alumni and Parent Internship Fund grant recipients must commit to attending the following:

• Professional Development Workshop & Dinner (May 9, 2012; 5 - 7pm)
  This "Internship Success" workshop will help students learn important skills and tips to succeed in their internships including how to initiate internship projects and responsibilities, work on a team, communicate with your supervisor and network.
• Formal reflection (due September 7. 2012)
  Students will write a thank you letter/reflective essay to the Alumni and Parent Internship Fund donors and complete an internship evaluation at the end of their internship. 
• Reflection Session (September 7, 2012; 2 - 3:30 pm)
  Students will participate in an interactive workshop to learn effective ways to communicate their internship experience to potential employers.
  

If you are unable to fully commit to all these events, please describe why you cannot commit to an event on your application in the essay section on "Commitment." You will still be considered for the program.   

Student Experiences

	Adriana C. Garcia Ceja, CC 2013 Internship: International Labour Organization Adriana, a Political Science major, is interning this summer at the International Labour Organization’s Regional Headquarters for Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima, Peru. She is completing “phase two” of the same practicum held last summer. She works in the project “Program for the Extension of Social Protection Policies in the Sub-Andean Region: Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.” Adriana was born in Mexico City, grew up in Miami, FL, and finished the last two years of high school in Omaha, NE. She hopes to one-day work in international organizations to continue cultivating a broader, international perspective. She is complementing her undergraduate education by enrolling in the Columbia-Sciences Po, Paris joint 5-year Bachelor of Arts/ Masters in International Affairs program.
	Sierra Kuzava, CC 2012 Internship: Bellevue Hospital Center  Sierra is a rising senior in Columbia College, majoring in psychology. This summer she will be interning at Bellevue Hospital’s child psychiatry ward. Sierra has focused her studies on developmental psychology, and hopes to eventually pursue a graduate degree in clinical child psychology.  At Bellevue, she will work with severe and persistent childhood psychopathologies in both inpatient and outpatient settings. At Columbia, Sierra has worked as research assistant to Dr. Catherine Monk and Dr. Herbert Terrace . She is also a copy editor for the Columbia Daily Spectator, and has taken part in AmericaReads, Columbia Bach Society, and Columbia University Players.  She is very excited about the opportunity to see and treat mental illness firsthand.
	John Zucchi, CC 2013 Internship: Balestriere Fariello John is a rising junior at the College majoring in European History with a Concentration in Political Science. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, John is a valuable member of the Varsity Men's Lightweight Crew team where he has sat in the leading stroke pair of his crew for the past two years. He is also an important contributor to the team off the water, setting up both weekly and monthly opportunities for members of the team to volunteer with local senior citizens organizations and soup kitchens. When he's not balancing his time between academics and a rigorous practice schedule, John can often be seen playing the piano or cello, both of which he has played for nearly 10 years. This summer John will be interning at Balestriere Fariello, a private trials and investigations law firm with a focus in public service,located in Lower Manhattan where he hopes to gain insight into a possible career in law.
	Rohan Bhandari, CC 2013 Internship: Engineers Without Borders - USA Rohan is a sophomore and is a Physics major with a concentration in Mathematics. For a month this summer, he will be traveling to Uganda with Engineers Without Borders. There he will be working to build a rainwater harvesting system for the Beacon of Hope Secondary School. He will also be working on a Multifunctional Platform Pilot Program that hopes to help villages start their own business in agricultural processing. At Columbia, Rohan has been investigating the electronic properties of graphene with Professor Richard Osgood since the previous summer. Along with that, Rohan helped to cofound the CU Judo Club, where he is currently Secretary.

Sample of Past Recipient Internship Organizations