Thursday, September 7, 2006 •Page 13
most of summer
7,
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Junior joelle Dent and Tayga Cedik
watch a men's Turkey socccer game
in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Sophomore Ivy Crank takes a
moment to pose upon a cliff after a
long 12-mile hike just outside of
Hope, Alaska.
workers on a personal level and feel
like she was part of the team.
“Everyone made me feel welcome,
included and appreciated,” Dunn said.
“No one treated me like a lesser person
or ‘just an intern.’ I was extremely
impressed even during my initial inter
view because my supervisor already
had an outline of the projects I would
be working on. I was pleased to see
that they took me seriously and didn’t
have me there only to make tea. I had
real responsibilities and people were
impressed with my work. They invited
me to the chairwoman’s annual recep
tion, gave me a ticket to see ‘Stomp!,’
included me in field trips to cultural
and historic sights in London and even
took me out for drinks on my last day.
I absolutely loved my work and every
one I worked with.”
Dunn now wants to pursue working
there after she graduates. She is
already looking into a British
Universities North America Club
(BUNAC) visa, a six-month work visa
that allows American university stu
dents and recent graduates to work in
the United Kingdom.
“After I graduate, I hope to work for
an international education or study
abroad provider, or in an institution’s
study abroad office,” Dunn said. “I
plan to keep in touch with my supervi
sor from FIE and she promised to keep
me apprised of job opportunities at FIE
and with other providers.”
A trip to Alaska was the newest sum
mer trip students could go on to gain
credits. It is the only summer abroad
trip offered that is actually to a state in
the United States, but Alaska could be
I went to SicUy, Italy with the sum
mer abroad program through Elon.
The program lasted one month and
I took an Italian course and a
tourism course. I also vacationed in
France for two and a half weeks
with my mom Went I got back to
the U.S. I horse-showed. 7 7
Christina Mangano, sophomore
considered ‘going abroad’ since it is so
far removed from the continental U.S.
The actual class begins and finishes on
campus, although students spend 14
days in Alaska hiking and canoeing.
Sophomore Ivy Crank had wanted to
go to Alaska since she was in the fifth
grade, when her older brother visited
Alaska with her father and grandfather.
“I heard from family and friends that
Alaska is a beautiful place and I was
really excited about the possibility of
seeing wildlife—bears, whales, moose
and wolves—wildflowers, mountains
and glaciers,” Crank said. “When I was
10, my family rented an RV and drove
out West for two weeks and visited
several national parks, landmarks and
other points of interest along the way.
Through family vacations and travel I
had visited every state in the United
States except for Alaska—now I’ve
seen them all.”
“Wherever we went, there were
mountains in the background; it was
beautiful,” Crank said. “We fell asleep
to a river rushing by our tents, climbed
a mountain while watching a cloud
pass through a valley and sat on a rock
in the ocean while watching a bald
eagle perched nearby.”
Some students chose to travel abroad
this summer, just for fun. The summer
presents a great time to do this because
school is not in session. There are no
worries about missing anything impor
tant or having work to make up.
Junior Joelle Dent traveled to Turkey
for six weeks this summer. She came
across the oppotunity to travel and
work there through a friend who had
gone to Turkey last summer and talked
about how gorgeous it was. While
there. Dent was a nanny for a 12-year-
old girl named Tayga Gedik.
“I did not know anything about
Ttirkey before I went there, which was a
shame,” Dent said. “I expected to learn
a lot about a brand new culture and see
a lot of historical sites and try a lot of
new good food and become friends with
the family I was staying with.”
Dent hung out with Gedik during all
her waking hours; they spent relaxing
days together.
“We would wake up, eat breakfast
and watch one or two television
shows,” Dent said. “They have a lot of
American comedy shows in Turkey so
we watched ‘Spin City’ and ‘Will &
Grace.’ Then we would go swimming
in the afternoon or visit a historical
place like the Blue Mosque or Topkapi
Palace. In the evenings, we would play
board games and I learned some
Turkish card games. Then we would
usually go out to dinner and I was able
to try a lot of Turkish foods.”
Students took advantage of the sum
mer to gain real world experience
working at an internship while at
home. Internships are not only a great
way to build a resume, but it also sets
students apart with more skills and
knowledge aside from only taking
classes at Elon.
Senior Jackie Lewis interned over the
summer at an event planning company
called Entertainment Design Group in
Austell, Ga., just outside of Atlanta.
“I was lucky to find my internship
because the owners of the company
attend my church and found out that I
needed an internship for the summer,”
Lewis said. “1 helped put together
press kits and proposal materials for
events coming up in Atlanta, which
means I was busy gathering all the
information about the talent and
attended the events.”
Lewis’ experience provided her
valuable insight in what she wants to
do after graduation.
“I learned the details and steps
involved and the logistics that actually
fall into planning a successful event,
which clarifies and gives a real-world
experience that goes beyond college
classes,” Lewis said. “I would love to
work in the event planning business
after college and recommend that
everybody try and find an internship
because it is a great experience and
will hopefully give a feel for what you
would or would not want to pursue.”
Overall, Elon students took advan
tage of the summer to work, travel,
take classes or just relax. Summer
served as a great time to take a break
from school to do whatever they want
ed, inevitably leading to the excitement
of moving back to Elon and begining
another year.
Contact Colby Pierce at
pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.