Noam Unger
Noam was a consultant for a new USAID-funded food security
program administered by Save the Children in Haiti this past
summer. The project studied mother/child health nutrition.
Mothers enrolled in the program taught other mothers about
nutrition over ten day periods.
“I was helping to reform the system of community nutrition
education clinics for mothers of malnourished children,” Noam
said. He divided his time between the capital, Port Au Prince,
and villages and towns in rural areas, some of which were several
hours away by truck, trying to resolve the difference between
methodology and implementation. “I was devising a data collection
and monitoring system with nutritionists and monitoring and
evaluation specialists.”
Noam appreciated the way he was received by the Save the Children
staff. “They were good at delegating substantive work and they
had me help to structure my internship. They treated me like
full-time staff.”
The internship provided Noam with a perspective he believes will
be useful in the classroom. “It exposed me to certain realities
of the field that raised the very ethical dilemmas that we
discuss in my courses. [The experience] gives you a foil to use
to reflect on issues you’re working with in class.”
Noam met the director of Save the Children’s food security
program at a non-profit career fair at Fletcher last January. His
advice for those looking for internships is, “You have to be
persistent. You have to hound people.”
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Sara Yun
Sara spent the summer as an intern in Geneva, Switzerland,
working for the International Trade Centre (ITC). The ITC is an
office which works under the United Nations Conference on Trade
and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It examines the
implications of WTO agreements on countries.
The office that Sara worked for dealt with services, “anything
you can’t drop on your foot,” such as tourism, translation and
business to business activities. “We are helping developing
countries realize the potential that the GATS (the General
Agreement on Trade in Services) agreement opens for them—trade
opportunities.” The office provides market analysis and looks for
ways to help developing countries better market exports.
“Services, on average, comprise about sixty percent of a
developing country’s economy, says Sara, “Imagine the export
potential and economic significance!”
One of Sara’s projects was to work on “Executive Forum,” a
meeting in Montreaux, Switzerland between trade ministers and
other “movers and shakers” from developing countries. This year
the forum prepared export strategies and worked on brand
management—how countries can harness an image. Sara also analyzed
what has happened since the 2000 round of GATS negotiations. “I
wrote an article on the GATS agreement for Forum, a journal
published by the UN’s ITC office.”
Sara believes that her experience this past summer will help her
with her coursework (she’s already contacted Professor Kowalczyk
about doing her MALD thesis on GATS) and her career after
graduation. She would like to work as an economic officer for the
Foreign Service, ideally at the US Mission to the WTO. To first
year students, “I definitely think you should consider an
internship.” The past summer offered her a great opportunity for
networking, meeting people and learning more about trade. “If
you’re looking to meet people in your field, an internship is
great.”
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William Hess
William worked for the Hitachi Research Institute, an internal
consulting group for Hitachi Limited, in Tokyo, Japan this
summer.
Researchers at the institute are given consulting projects by
divisions of Hitachi to work on. “My focus was on trade
competition between China and Japan in the IT sector,” said
William. He was able to bring his personal interests and blend
them with Hitachi’s regional strategy of competition with a
growing China. “My project was to assess what the nature of
competition is between Hitachi’s core industries and the
developing technology industries in China.”
Besides gaining valuable work experience, William, new to Japan,
appreciated the cross cultural aspects of living in a new
country. He said it “was a lot of fun and challenging” getting
accustomed to a new language and culture. “If I had the
opportunity, I’d certainly go back to Tokyo.”
William believes that what he learned at Hitachi will help him to
“…bridge the gap between an actual firm versus theoretical models
that we learn about here at Fletcher.” He says he looks forward
to applying his new insight in his “Foundations in Financial
Accounting and Corporate Finance” course with Professor Jacque
this fall. “I’ll understand better what the financial effects of
trade policies are on individual firms.”
His advice to first-year students considering internships: “Japan
and the IT sector were new for me. Apply to things that might not
necessarily be in the direct path of your previous experience.
Give a shot at something new!”
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