With a second round of midterms rolling around, students at Johns Hopkins University are beginning to look forward to the experiences offered during Intersession.
Intersession is a period held in between Fall and Spring semester where students are encouraged to participate in activities their schedules would not otherwise allow. Many students see participating in Hopkins' Intersession as worthwhile, and a simple look at the opportunities available during this period would explain why. A few of the more popular of these opportunities are the class internship trips, known formally as Intersession 2006's Experiential Learning courses.
Each of the Intersession trips charges a fee of $350. Junior Bryan Balin said, "For Manhattan, it's a great deal. You might be spending that much on hotels alone anyway. It was a good time, especially if you know someone in the city." The $350 charge includes both transportation and lodging.
Three trips will be taken this year, each bringing a group of Hopkins students to New York City. "The Entertainment State: A Critical Look at Contemporary Media" is a three day trip to New York where students meet with professionals in the media industry, as well as industry insiders. A trip to the backstage of Hairspray is included, and film, television and radio are all major focus areas of the trip.
Last year there was a classroom component to the trip that took place on the Homewood campus where alums in the entertainment industry came to speak about their professions, but changes have been made to the program. On the trip last year students were offered tours of NYCTV, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office, Court TV, CBS and MTV all while meeting and networking with Hopkins' alums at these powerful entertainment companies. There was also a networking reception that gathered Hopkins alums in the entertainment industry in the New York area in order for students to be able to meet and get guidance from them.
Another one of the programs, "Economics: Seminar in Financial Literacy," deals with investment and financial industry. While the academic course in Financial Literacy has a prerequisite of Macroeconomics, students who have not had time to complete the course during Intersession may still apply for the "Day on the Street" trip; a three-day excursion to New York City and Wall Street. There, participants meet with representatives from firms including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. The trip is concluded by a reception with Hopkins alumni in the finance industry. Former participant Balin said, "The reception at the end of the trip really stood out. They give you lots of advice and pointers on how to get internships."
For the Globalization trip, participants travel to both New York City and Washington, D.C. Cross-culture marketing is one focus area. Discussions also include global trade and finance, state sovereignty and sustainable economic development.
Of course, the major goal of these trips is to teach participants basic networking skills and provide knowledge and contacts with the respective industries. According to Tracy Carter, Assistant Director of the Career Center, and one of the coordinators of the Media trip, "The trips that we coordinate are intended to have students exposed to industries that they haven't been exposed to and to help with internships and future jobs. I know specifically of one student who got an internship at CourtTV last year, and there are definitely students in "Financial Literacy" who have gotten internships. I think the extent to how useful the contacts are depends on how well the student follows up."
The industry representatives that students meet with in the internship trips can range from first-year analysts to firm directors to MTV employees. According to Carter, "There is always a question and answer session with all of the students. Many times this involves career choices."
