Eboni Stevens - Protocol Program Intern
This week marked the commencement of my internship with the Protocol program of The International Center. As a citizen of Richmond, Indiana (a small town bordering Ohio) I was quite anxious about starting a position as an intern in the city. I attend Earlham College where I am pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in Comparative Languages and Linguistics with a minor in Business and Nonprofit Management. My major of study focuses on two languages; Spanish and Japanese. To further my knowledge of the Japanese culture, I traveled to Japan for the fall semester of 2013 after doing a literary review of Japanese culture in the business setting. The offer to work as an intern for The International Center fit my personal interests, as well as the path I am pursuing academically. I am very excited to spend my summer with The International Center.
Brad Gottschlich - Program and Services Intern
I was born and raised in Northwest Indiana in a town named Valparaiso. I grew up in an area quite close to Lake Michigan and attended Valparaiso Public Schools. After leaving Valparaiso in 2007, I attended Ball State University where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and German. I am currently working on my Master’s at IUPUI through the IU SPEA program. My concentration is Public Management which is budgetary analysis focused.
My interests include various topics from music, sports, to my personal academic interests. Most of my time is filled with either school or work but I do include time on weekends to participate in activities like golfing or riding my bike around downtown. Since I live, work, and go to school downtown, it is where I spend most of my time during the week and on weekends. I try to stay up to date about various festivals and events going on downtown throughout the year and especially during the summer time.
After having half of my educational advancement at Ball State University including German Language and Culture, working at the International Center provides me a professional way to practice my skills in the work place. Aside from my own personal excitement, I am looking forward to helping include Indianapolis as a focal point for international relations in Indiana. I have traveled to Germany twice in the last four years. My first time in Germany was a study abroad for my German language program during the summer of 2010 and for personal leisure in 2011. German language and culture is of course my main interest but having those experiences have sparked an international interest overall for me because I believe Indiana will only continue to become more international in the future.
Olivia Grace Wolfe - Global Competency Intern
Hello! My name is Olivia Grace Wolfe, and I come all the way from Memphis, TN, but I am currently going to school at Butler University here in Indianapolis. I have a double major in International Studies and Spanish and a double minor in German and English Literature. I am the Global Competency Intern under Ansuya Naiken, and I am extremely excited to be here! To me, this internship is very hands-on and offers me opportunities that no other internship anywhere else does. I have the opportunity to not just do busy work, but actually do hands-on work for the training programs and workshops under the Global Competency Program while participating in exciting events in Indianapolis through this organization.
My international interests began with my ballet company, New Ballet Ensemble, when my instructor Katie Smythe hired a native from Barcelona, Noelia Garcia Carmona, to teach us flamenco dance. From there, I learned Spanish and German and have so far travelled all around Europe while studying abroad in Spain (twice) and Germany (once) and travelled around China while studying abroad there. But my interests do not just stop there… I am a health fanatic as a group fitness instructor for Pilates and Piloxing, and I love cooking for myself, friends, and family! Beyond that, I read all sorts of literature in English, Spanish, and German and enjoy volunteering for festivals all over the Indy area.
This is a great place to be and I can already tell that my summer will be full of exciting opportunities and learning experiences!
Christine Burns - International Visitors Leadership Program Intern
Hello! My name is Christine Burns and I am from Long Island, New York. While in high school, I participated in a summer exchange student program in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Since then, I have been hooked on cross-cultural relations and international affairs and have lived in Mexico, Malaysia and China working as an international educator. Therefore, I am very excited to be working with the International Visitors Leadership Program at The International Center. Through this internship, I hope to gain practical experience in facilitating international exchanges as I pursue my Masters degree in International Relations at the University of Indianapolis. I also have a Masters degree in International Training and Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. As to be expected, my passion is to explore the world and I also enjoy setting unique challenges for myself. This year, I am going to attempt the Chicago marathon.
Victoria Hicks - Relocation Services Intern
Hi everyone, my name is Victoria and I’m interning with CaSondra Shim over at the Relocation Services. I was born in Mexico but I grew up in Bloomington Indiana. So in reality, I consider myself a Hoosier, but without the love for basketball. I’m a Senior at Indiana University studying International Relations, with concentrations in South America and International Politics. I’m also finishing up my Minors in Political Science and Portuguese, which compliment my Major. It is fairly obvious from my education that I am fascinated by different cultures, as well as international and domestic politics.
My interests, which are really my passions, are reading and languages. When it comes to reading, I do not discriminate—I love all genres and read as much as my schedule allows. Libraries are some of my favorite places on earth and I’m not completely happy unless I’m reading a good book at some point in the day. As for my love of languages, it is really driven by my love and curiosity of other country’s cultures. Being bilingual myself, I have come to understand that to learn a culture through-and-through, it is easiest and best to learn the language. It is a way to show your love and interest, and usually leads to a more open and friendly reception from people from those cultures.
The interplay between countries and their cultures has fascinated me as long as I can remember. Being from Mexico and growing up in the United States meant that I had to figure out how to be both Mexican and American at the same time. An internal dialogue that I, and countless other immigrant children, had to go through. However, in me it sparked a curiosity to discover in just how many ways one country, its culture and economy could affect other countries across the world through commerce, immigration and politics. To this day it is something that fascinates me, which is why I am studying International Studies and interning at the International Center, because I want to learn more about interactions between countries and their citizens.
Richard Kuo Li - Project Manager China Intern
Hello, I am Richard Kuo Li from Guangdong, China. I am working as the China Program Intern with Lei Wang here at the International Center. I earned my bachelor degree of Journalism in China in 2011, then I came to US on August 2012 for graduate study at IUPUI. I am expected to graduate in August this year. China is becoming a stronger partner for Indiana, and the demand for international communication between China and Indiana has emerged rapidly in recent years. Since I have a plan to work on International communication as a career, the internship at the International Center provides me a great opportunity to have a taste of this business that I am excited about.
Kathryn Fox - Marketing, Communications and Stakeholder Relations Intern
I grew up in Nashville Tennessee and I will be a senior at Butler University in the fall, with majors in International Business and Marketing with a minor in German. I will be working at The International Center as the Marketing, Communications and Stakeholder Relations Intern. I recently got back from studying abroad in Germany, and I’m excited to be able to spread diversity and international experience throughout Indianapolis. The staff is obviously very internationally-focused as well, so it’s great to be able to talk to people about my same interests and news from around the world!
My interests include traveling, playing and watching soccer, reading (my favorite book series is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), writing, watching TV series like Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and House of Cards, as well as cooking and baking. Having three exchange students in high school really opened my eyes to the international realm. I was able to visit them in high school- those trips sparked my interest for traveling and learning languages. It was because of them that I chose to major in International Business and minor in German. As I added Marketing in the past year, I thought this internship would be perfect to explore all of the professional interests I have.
Akeira Jennings - International Citizen of the Year Award Intern
Hello! My name is Akeira Jennings and I am this year’s International Citizen of the Year Award (ICY) Intern. I will be working with Magdalena Josipovic and Billie Fouts, and I am overjoyed to be working at The International Center this summer! I am a senior at Butler University and I am majoring in both Journalism and International Studies with a minor in Spanish. I recently studied abroad on a program offered to Butler students called, the GALA program, in which I ventured to England, Ireland, Spain, France, The Netherlands, and Belgium. The program was both insightful and life altering and from it, I developed a fervent passion for international relations and traveling.
In pursuit of becoming even more globally knowledgeable, I thought my first step would have to include leaving the Midwest once more. However, after researching summer internships with an international focus, I stumbled upon The International Center. As an Indianapolis based organization, I was astounded by The International Center’s presence in both the international realm and in the Indianapolis community. Now here I am, already three weeks into my internship and I still cannot believe that assisting in the coordination of the 2014 International Citizen of the Year Award honoring Mayor Ballard and Mrs. Winnie Ballard will be my summer task. Though summer is just beginning and I am merely on the cusp of my entrance into the professional world, I already feel elation and accomplishment for the opportunity to work on the ICY event and with such a globally imperative organization. I cannot wait to see where this summer takes me and what new experiences lie ahead!
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