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Hosting an ACUHO-I Intern
Submitted by Janet Athanasiou, Residence Coordinator, University of Alberta
“Okay, so the biggest thing you need to remember while you’re here is 20 degrees Celsius is 68 Fahrenheit, and while driving, 60 miles an hour is comparable to 100 kilometres an hour. Got it?”
These are probably two things our two summer interns heard a lot in the time they spent in Alberta completing ACUHO-I internships. Since 2003, the University of Alberta has had the pleasure of hosting a summer intern, both of whom were American. The cultural changes and weird Canadian weather notwithstanding (last year our intern got caught in a snowstorm in Manitoba while driving up from Illinois; she was arriving in May), hosting an intern has been one of the best experiences for the staff at the U of A.
Not only have we had the opportunity to work with 2 remarkable, driven, and competent people who are going to make quite a mark in the field of student affairs, but also we have been able to get a new and fresh perspective on our residence life program. In the past our interns have helped with the planning of fall training, the creation of a discipline handbook for our student-run discipline process, and other special projects that we need help with, as well as things they are interested in learning more about. One of the things that draw potential candidates to the University of Alberta is our “choose your own adventure” style internship. Our goal is for the person who is coming all the way up to the great white north to get the most out of their time here, and learn as much as they can. In some cases, it’s the first time they have been across the border, and want to learn as much as possible about all aspects of residence life and student affairs in another country. In addition to learning all those things, our interns who have never spent a lot of time in Canada also learn about toques, poutine and Loonies.
The University of Alberta opens its internship experience to both graduate and undergraduate students, allowing us to tailor the experience to complement the skills the intern is bringing with them, as well as develop some new skills. We have hosted both an undergrad and a grad, and both have worked very well with us and for us. In taking either grads or undergrads, we also open our opportunity to every candidate who is thinking of pursuing an internship, getting our name out there to a number of people, this year there were over 200 applicants. In conducting interviews, our selection committee has learned that one of the big draws of the University of Alberta’s internship is the fact that it is in a foreign country, but not so far away that travelling will eat up the cost of getting here, or where a language barrier may be a problem. By offering a uniquely Canadian experience to American students looking to pursue an internship, the University of Alberta has become a popular internship host site.
In talking with our Canadian counterparts, we at the U of A often ask why other schools do not opt to host an intern as well. We’ve had great success, and highly endorse the programme. The answer we often get is “why bother to host an intern, when we can pay our own students to do the same work?” It’s a valid response, but perhaps a shortsighted one. Instead of asking why hire someone outside your school to do what someone inside can do, a better question to ask is how best to improve our residence life programme, gain insight to how others schools work, and foster an opportunity to develop the interest of someone who would like to pursue residence life as a career? We all attend conferences to make connections to other colleagues, to learn from other schools and possibly to network when the time comes for us to move on. Why not treat the work you hire for over the summer as the same kind of opportunity? Our interns bring with them knowledge of residence life in the United States, and how things work at their schools. They are encouraged to share both things that work, and things that perhaps may need some improvement; what they like about their own programme and what they would change. The benefits of hosting an intern go far beyond just getting new ideas from someone south of the border, the experience is comparable to going to a conference to meet other people to share ideas, but instead of travelling to a distant place, you’re walking into your office. You have the opportunity to network with someone, as well as create a possible mentoring relationship with a student all from the comfort of your office chair. The opportunity is there to develop a relationship with someone who has a strong interest in pursuing your chosen field as a career, and the opportunity to educate someone on residence life, and life in a different country.
While the majority of the above-mentioned benefits, especially the mentoring relationship you can get from employing a student from your school, the cultural benefits like the inevitable discussion on coloured money, will be missing, as well as the chance to bring in new blood and gain a different perspective on programmes that are successful but could be improved.
The costs associated with hosting an intern are comparable to those of hosting a domestic student; the host institution must pay minimum wage for 40 hours of work a week, plus offer room and board, or a comparable stipend. Most schools that hire students to work for them pay minimum wage or higher for 40 hours of work a week, so the added cost may be room and board, but there are schools that are able to offer that as well.
Another benefit to becoming involved with the ACUHO-I internship programme is you can encourage your own students to become an intern. In addition to being the only Canadian school to be a host institution, the University of Alberta is one of a few Canadian schools that have sent students to intern at other institutions. Both of our students have expressed an interest in pursuing residence life as a career, a desire either brought on by, or increased by their internship experience. They enjoyed working in a different country, as well as the experiences they received from working at a different school, met people they are still in contact with, and were able to attend the ACUHO-I annual conference, something they would not have been able to do had they not embarked on the internship adventure.
Hosting an ACUHO-I intern two years in a row, with a third one on the way has been such a rewarding experience for the staff in residence life at the University of Alberta. We are still in touch with our two interns, with some of the staff forging friendships they feel will last a long time. It has been a kind of cultural exchange program for both the school and the intern, with very positive results. The University of Alberta learns year after year as they do this programme that a Canadian residence life experience is something many of the intern candidates want, knowledge about residence life in Canada is something our colleagues to the south are desirous of and therefore the lack of other Canadian schools is disheartening. So I say, go ahead, next year become an internship host site, and experience all the wonders of having someone new in the office, combined with teaching someone about the correct usage of the word “eh”.
About the Author
Janet Athanasiou is a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, but has been with the University of Alberta for the past two years. She is a graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in History and James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she earned her Master’s degree in College Student Personnel Administration. She enjoys reading, baking and cross-stitching when she can find a free moment. You may reach her at janet.athanasiou@ancillary.ualberta.ca