After many summer 2020 internships were cancelled due to COVID-19, virtual internships began to take popularity. After Stevens changed to online instruction halfway through the Spring 2020 semester, 25 students abroad were forced to come back to the U.S., and summer study abroad programs were uncertain. After the spring semester came to a close, study abroad programs had to quickly adjust to a new style: virtual.
The Stevens study abroad program began offering virtual options shortly after the closure of borders and college campuses; Stevens quickly approved the courses and programs to be offered online. Despite virtual abroad internships being a completely new offering at Stevens, many students attended interest meetings and showed they were eager to learn about the opportunities.
Susan Rachouh, Director of International Programs, explained that “there was lots of cross-cultural experience, despite it being online.” In particular, freshmen students were pleased with the virtual options, as Rachouh claims, “they were very excited that they were able to explore more on what they might want to do in the future.”
Not only were freshmen given an opportunity, but Rachouh expressed that some students would not have been able to study abroad if it was not virtual. “Some could not physically do it, had no time, nor the finances,” and the opportunities being online made the experience much more accessible. An increase in the diversity of students completing the programs was seen, and almost every student was given some form of scholarship or financial aid — this was a first for the study abroad program at Stevens.
Now the question came up: what about the time zones? To mitigate this issue, certain parts of the internships or classes were synchronous and some sessions were asynchronous; nonetheless, students had to adjust to different timezones. Additionally, some students also had part-time jobs and had to factor that time commitment in, so they would be able to gain money as they were completing their internship.
With the pandemic still affecting everyday life, Stevens will be offering virtual abroad programs this upcoming Spring 2021 semester. “Some students are minoring in business abroad, so the idea of virtual courses works well,” Rachouh said. She added that “at first, everybody was iffy with virtual courses—especially in a different country, but now with everything being online people are becoming more open to the idea. Now you have online museum walks or history tours, and such a unique online experience to learn.”
One student who was able to take on this unique experience was Natalie Todaro, a third year Visual Arts and Technology student. “Honestly, it was a really amazing experience to be able to interact with people in Ecuador from my bedroom,” Todaro expressed. For her, this was the first step of getting into the world of international studying. She added that “it definitely made me more interested in going abroad in the future. I gained a huge amount of respect for people who work across cultures and learned how to better tackle cultural differences.” Not only was she exposed to a new culture, but she was additionally able to learn about her field of study, art and design, and experience a professional work setting.
Questions have arisen whether or not the majority of Stevens students will be able to step foot on campus next spring semester or the following summer semester. According to Rachouh, virtual summer abroad internships and programs are a continued option for the future, even after the effects of the pandemic end. Rachouh claimed, “it’s cheaper so it adds a lot of accessibility. We don’t know yet about the summer, some countries are opening up to us, but we still are not certain about the plans.”
Lastly, Rachouh expressed that students should not be discouraged by the thought of having a virtual internship; furthermore, a virtual abroad internship. The summer 2020 internships proved to be successful and there will be continued efforts to make them an option in the future. “Doing an internship online can make you figure out if you want to work from home or want a job in person,” Rachouh points out.
Students interested in getting more information on completing a virtual abroad internship program, info sessions are available and posted on DuckLink. Individual appointments can also be made with Rachouh for more information.
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