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Students who wish to receive course credit for a Field Internship in Latino Studies must talk to a faculty member of the Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies before registering for PRLS 212. This faculty member will serve as the intern's program coordinator throughout the semester.
Internships should be designed to provide students with a supervised work experience that is worthwhile for the sponsoring organization as well as the intern's intellectual development. The internship should also be Latino/a focused, either in the nature of the work or the population served.
STUDENT REQUIREMENTS
The internship must be pre-approved by a member of the Institute faculty before a student can enroll in PRLS 212.
The student must be in 5th semester standing to participate.
Students are required to work 9-27 hours per week for 14 weeks in a cultural and/or community-oriented setting(s). The University requires 42 hours of work per credit hour.
A letter from the workplace supervisor evaluating the student's activities and performance is also required before credit is given.
Meetings with Academic Supervisor
The intern and academic supervisor should schedule a minimum of 3 meetings over the course of the semester to discuss matters regarding the internship. These sessions could be in-person or phone conferences.
Journal/Log
Interns are required keep a journal/log which includes a daily account of the work they do at their placement together with their thoughts and feelings regarding that work. The journal/log may include observations and analysis of placement operations and their relation to any larger issues. Journals/Logs will be submitted to the academic supervisor for review and discussion at meetings scheduled throughout the semester.
Internship Project
Interns are required to complete a specific educational project at their field placement which is decided upon through consultation with the field supervisor. Ideally, the project should provide some substantial contribution to the sponsoring organization. A description of the proposed project, its purpose, its value to the organization, and a tentative time table for completion are submitted to the academic supervisor early in the semester.
At the end of the term, the students turn in a copy of the project together with a description of how it was completed and how it is intended to benefit the organization. Interns are encouraged to make note of any strengths or shortcomings recognized in the process of completing the project.
Examples of field projects include: conducting a research project; organizing a support group; developing an educational workshop or training seminar for the organization; conducting a community needs assessment; interviewing community members for a booklet; comprising a list of all available services within a particular area; coordinating college volunteers to work with a community group; developing a photographic/artistic dossier.
Final Report
Interns are required to complete a final report which includes: 1) a description of work accomplished; 2) a summary of what has been learned; 3) an assessment of how initial goals were met or altered; 4) an appraisal of how the internship "fit" with the rest of their academic education; and 5) an evaluation of the placement itself.
Professionalism
Interns are expected to be professional in terms of dress, telephone manners, written work, accuracy, reliability, punctuality, attendance, and commitment. Interns are expected to be well organized in order to complete all assigned work.
Help
The role of the interns' academic advisor is to act as advocate and mentor. It is imperative that students speak with the advisor immediately if anything is bothering them.
PLACEMENT SUPERVISORS
The Contract
At the beginning of the semester students are given a contract, "Form A", which is designed to serve as an agreement between the supervisor and intern. This agreement should outline clear and specific time requirements, tasks, and goals. The terms of the contract may be re-negotiated at any point during the semester as long as the student's academic supervisor is notified of the alterations.
Supervision and Evaluation
It is important that students receive reasonably close and consistent supervision. It is recommended that supervisors meet with interns at least weekly.
Approximately half-way through the semester supervisors are sent a midterm evaluation, “Form B.” At the same time, interns will be provided with comparable forms on which to evaluate their progress. We recommend that supervisors and students discuss what they have written, evaluate what progress has been made, and specify what remains to be accomplished before the end of the semester. Both supervisor and student evaluation forms are returned to the Program Coordinator at the conclusion of such discussions.
Toward the end of the semester, each supervisor will be sent a final evaluation, "Form C", on which to evaluate the student's work and to recommend a final grade. It is imperative that these forms be returned by the specified date in order for the student to receive an internship grade at the appropriate time.
Attendance
Interns are assigned to placements for 14 weeks to work 9, 18, or 27 hours per week, depending upon the number of credits they have elected for the placement (3, 6, or 9). In some placements the actual number of hours may vary from week to week, but students must complete a total of 126, 252, or 378 hours by the end of the semester. Students are not required to work during regular university vacations.
Expectations regarding attendance must be clearly defined. Students are responsible for notifying their immediate supervisor if they will be absent or late. We ask that supervisors give interns adequate notice if they are expected to work at times other than their regularly scheduled hours (for example, to attend a special meeting, conference, or event). As with regular employees, students have commitments (other courses, jobs, family responsibilities) in addition to their internships.
Working Conditions
All interns are expected to be provided with a reasonable place in which to work. If the intern is dependent upon other workers for access to a building or office, this should be arranged in advance.
Occasionally interns are placed in potentially awkward positions by their unique status. They are not regular employees but they are also not volunteers. Most interns are vitally interested in the way the organization operates and committed to making valuable contributions. We ask supervisors to be particularly sensitive to such situations and to provide guidance which can help smooth the way.
Work Assignments
Interns benefit from work assignments which are pertinent to their long term goals and provide them with an opportunity to learn as much as possible about the way their placement organization functions. It is of paramount importance that students be provided with a worthwhile and meaningful work environment. Although it may occasionally be necessary for interns to help out with those tasks associated with unskilled, underpaid labor (such as, stuffing envelops, running errands) that should be the exception rather than the rule.
It is often helpful for students to have the opportunity to explore as many aspects of a particular placement as time and circumstances permit. If there are brief periods of time when interns are not busy with assigned responsibilities, it is recommended that supervisors arrange for them to meet with other people in the organization to discuss their work. This type of exposure often helps students to clarify career options and to make comparisons between various aspects of a particular field.
Field Project
Each student is required to work on a specific project for the internship. The purpose of this project is to provide the placement organization with some tangible benefit from sponsoring an intern and to give the student a concentrated focus and sense of accomplishment. During the initial weeks of the semester it is important that the supervisor and intern determine exactly what that project will be. The intern must submit a description of the proposed project by the third week o f classes. Occasionally the scope of the project needs to be adjusted during the course of the placement. If this occurs, the student is responsible for submitting a revised project plan.
Examples of field projects include: conducting a research project; organizing a support group; developing an educational workshop; conducting a needs assessment; interviewing individuals for a booklet; comprising a list of all available services within a particular area; developing and presenting a training seminar; coordinating college volunteers to work with at-risk adolescents.
There have been instances in which interns have worked on projects that could not be completed within their tenure at the placement. In such cases, students have been given some portion of the project which could be undertaken and completed within the time constraints of a one-semester placement.
Other Student Responsibilities
In addition to whatever written work is required of interns at their individual field placements, throughout the semester students are expected to write several papers regarding what they are learning from their experience.
Students are required to keep a journal/log which is used to help integrate academics with experience. Journals are used to record daily work, detail tasks completed, summarize meetings attended, in addition to writing thoughts, feelings, insights, and questions. The journal is read only by the Program Coordinator. It is important for students to write about their work in an attempt to better understand it, however, all interns are instructed in the issue of confidentiality and we trust that this is reinforced within each particular placement.
Student Preparation and Training
The diversity of placements prohibits our program from providing specific job training for any particular work assignment. Students select placements based on their interests, knowledge, talents, and goals after reading intern request information, provided by specific organizations, on file in our office. If supervisors require specific skills in an intern, they must make that known during the initial interview.
We recognize that supervising an intern requires significant time and energy. But the work performed by the student, together with the satisfaction of acting as a mentor for an intern, will more than offset the investment of both the organization and the supervisor.
Faculty Listing
Professor Guillermo B. Irizarry 486-3997
Institute Director and Professor of Modern and Classical Languages, Spanish Dept.
Professor Marysol Asencio 486-4177
Family Studies
Professor Guillermo Rebollo Gil 486-2244
Sociology
Professor Xaé A. Reyes 486-2033
School of Education
Professor Diana Ríos 486-3187
Communication Sciences
Professor Charles Venator Santiago 486-2440
Political Science
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Much of the material regarding this internship was provided courtesy of Professor Marita McComiskey, Women's Studies Program
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