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"Global grads" find college in faraway places
11/25/1997
CORVALLIS - The college experience, like it has been for decades, still means studying at the
library, football games, struggling with calculus and trying to get along with your roommate.
But in the '90s, it can also be hiking in knee-deep mud in the coastal rainforest of Ecuador,
treating children for tuberculosis in a South African squatter's camp, or working all summer in
the rolling, green, sheep-covered hills of Wales.
These experiences and others were shared by students in the College of Science at Oregon
State University who participated in Global Graduates - The Oregon International Internship
Program. It's an increasingly popular way for undergraduate and master' s-level students with
a sense of adventure to develop language skills, international work experience, leadership
abilities and academic expertise in the real world.
"In today's global economy many employers are looking for students with a wider variety of
skills, including those gained in an overseas setting," said Laura Hampton, coordinator of the
program at OSU. "International internships are a unique way to ear n academic credit and
develop practical skills."
The internships can take several forms, Hampton said. Sometimes they involve working with
an Oregon business that has an overseas branch. Sometimes the connections are with foreign
universities or non-profit agencies, and sometimes governmental sponsor ships are involved.
A common thread, participants say, is challenging new life experiences.
Katrina McPherson of Klamath Falls graduated from OSU last June with a degree in
biochemistry and biophysics and the university's innovative new international degree. Before
entering medical school this fall at Johns Hopkins University, she wanted to d o an internship
which would allow her both to improve her Spanish and study medicinal plants. The Fundacion
Jatun Sacha's biological reserve in Bilsa, Ecuador, filled those goals, where she learned about
the conservation functions of the reserve and the h ealth care system of Ecuador.
"I saw first-hand some of the problems that developing countries are facing, mainly that
health care is often inadequate or completely non-existent," McPherson said. As a result of her
experience, she is considering a medical career in public health, a nd hopes to return to the
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2. area to work with a group of indigenous people whose medicinal plants have not been studied.
Lisa Macy, a senior in general science from McMinnville, also hopes to pursue a medical science
career, and a recent six-month internship brought her up close and personal to the people of
South Africa.
"Watching the way the medical profession can help people all over the world, I realized why I
want to be a doctor," Macy said. "Bedford hospital was like nothing I have ever seen before.
Unsanitary conditions, limited staff, iron-barred beds lined sid e by side. No get-well cards,
flowers or visitors. Xhosa patients with tuberculosis, polio, spina bifida, gun shots, stabs, stick
wounds, osteomyelitis were treated. They were the most amazing people I have ever met."
Working with the physical therapy department, Macy aided in the treatment of paraplegic
patients in the morning and children in the afternoon. She also wrote grants requesting
hospital funding, compiled patient trauma statistics, and by the end of her internship learned
enough Xhosa to converse with many of the patients.
Heidie Beard, a senior in environmental science from Milwaukie, worked in the School of
Biological Sciences at the University of Wales, Bangor, researching the biodiversity of
organisms associated with the common edible mussel, Mytilis edulis. Her prof essors were
"extremely helpful and willing to give the time and attention needed to discuss concerns about
the project", Beard said.
"I gained a sense of achievement, better communication skills, became more culturally aware
and made career contacts as well as many new personal friends who come from all over the
world," she said.
According to Hampton, participation in the Global Graduates program can be developed
through any university in the Oregon State System of Higher Education. Scholarships are
available to assist with the costs of the internship experience, positions are filled on a
competitive basis, and the program offers a wide variety of opportunities.
This program can also be combined with participation in OSU's international degree program
for undergraduates, which has similar goals and has become a national model for developing
the global awareness and competency of students.
Other recent internships in this program by Oregon residents include:
BEAVERTON: Paula Christensen, major in public health, promotion and education, internship
in Australia; Mario Eiland, internship in Latin America
BEND: Bradley Edmunds, major in Spanish, internship in Honduras; Jennifer Peterson, major in
human development and family science, internship in Mexico
BORING: Jacob Polk, major in psychology, internship in Mexico

3. CLACKAMAS: Steve Yeung, major in civil engineering, International Degree, internship in China
CORNELIUS: Susan Pranger, major in business administration, internship in Germany
CORVALLIS: Mike Chen, major in accounting, internship in Taiwan; Nick Hobgood, major in
marine resource management, internship in Senegal; Jennifer Hogansen, major in psychology,
internship in United Kingdom; Timothy McVey, major in business, management i nformation
systems, internship in Germany; Mary McCormick, major in marine resource management,
internship in Mexico; Kristine McElwee, major in marine resource management, internship in
Senegal; Jennifer Nutton, major in political science, internship in United Kingdom; Frances
Pendergrass, major in public health, internship in South Africa; Jennifer Segerholt, major in
health promotion and education, internship in Sweden; Typhanny Tucker, major in liberal
studies, internship in Costa Rica; Gretchen Wade, major in biology, internship in Mexico;
Samnang Yun, major in health promotion and education, internship in Cambodia
EUGENE: Kimberly Kauffman, major in English, internship in Mexico
GRESHAM: Bill Martin, major in history of science, internship in United Kingdom; Mark Pinilla,
major in international relations, internship in Ecuador
HILLSBORO: Rashawn Knapp, major in health care administration, internship in Mexico; Jeff
Malensky, major in international business, internship in Mexico
KENO: Pamela Goodrich, major in psychology, internship in Mexico
KLAMATH FALLS: Katrina McPherson, major in biochemistry and biophysics, internship in
Ecuador
LAKE OSWEGO: Luis Rodriguez-Garcia, major in Spanish and anthropology, internship in
Ecuador
MADRAS: Jennifer Samsel, major in computer science, internship in Japan
MCMINNVILLE: Lisa Macy, major in general science, internship in South Africa
MILWAUKIE: Heidie Beard, major in environmental science and aquatic biology, internship in
United Kingdom
NEWBERG: Andrea Dietz, major in nutrition and food management, internship in Honduras
PHILOMATH: Sharmin Smith, International Degree in business administration, internship in
Mexico
PORTLAND: Eva Celnik, major in health promotion and education, internship in Switzerland;
Emily Gates, major in Spanish, internship in Ecuador; Emily Holtman, major in business
administration, management, internship in Ireland; Heather Jenkins, major in human

4. development and family science, internship in Finland; Benjamin Kaiel, major in graphic
design, internship in Italy; David Mecklem, major in food science and technology, internship in
Germany; Susan Walsh, major in public health, internship in Aust ralia
SALEM: Shane Dickson, major in management information systems, internship in Ireland;
Nancy Taylor, major in microbiology and food science, internship in Germany
SPRINGFIELD: Shelley Trenary, major in human development and family studies, internship in
Mexico
SUBLIMITY: Daniel Gorelik, major in international business administration, International
Degree, internship in Russia
SUNRIVER: Joe Bergeron, major in political science, international studies, internship in Costa
Rica
SWEET HOME: Levi Abrams, major in political science, internship in Japan
WILSONVILLE: Juli Ellingson, major in animal science, internship in Tonga
MEDIA CONTACT:
David Stauth,
541-737-0787
SOURCE:
Laura Hampton, 541-737-6470
Contact Info
News and Research Communications Oregon State University 416 Kerr Administration Bldg. Corvallis,
Oregon 97331 541-737-4611 Contact us
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