Internships Have Value, Whether or Not Students Are Paid

Running on fumes, the homeless, single teen mother arrived at the office of a social-service agency hungry, tired, broke, and pregnant again. She needed help. Clipboard in hand, toddler in tow, she and the receptionist sat in a small waiting room and went over her situation. The story that emerged was horrific. She had been abused–in every way–by parents and foster parents; she spent years on the street selling first drugs, then her body; she had dated a number of men who had eventually tossed her and her baby aside. The receptionist sat with the damp 2-year-old on her lap, swallowed a big lump in her throat, put her pencil down, and said a counselor would be in to see the young woman shortly. The receptionist then excused herself, and closed the door behind her.

That receptionist was not just a receptionist, however–she was also a college student studying sociology. In addition to hundreds of pages of reading, as well as hours of theoretical discussions and lectures over the course of the semester, she worked as an unpaid intern and received perhaps the best education of her life.

By Charles Westerberg and Carol Wickersham

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/article/Internships-Have-Value/127231/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en