Steph's blog
Class of 2009, Political Science Major, from Sturgeon Bay, WI

Hello again,

It's good to be writing to you all once more. We've gotten a lot of snow last week and the temperatures are still very cold so I'm hoping things begin to warm up soon! The lunar eclipse last night was amazing, for those of you who weren't able to see it.

Anyways, on to what's happening with my internship. This past Monday was the last event planned as a part of the Get InFORUMed: WI Presidential Primary series that I put together with another intern. The series was three evenings where guest speakers came in to talk about timely issues before the WI Primary Election.

Our 3 topics were:
1.) Immigration
2.) Health care
3.) The economy

Unfourtanetly, due to the weather, one of our two panelists for the health care forum wasn't able to come and the entire event had to be postponed which unfourtanetly had a somewhat negative impact on the audience turnout. Our immigration forum had three panelists on it and was very well-attended. I believe the count was somewhere near 100 people. Our final forum on the economy was more of a presentation since we decided to have only one person speak. Our guest speaker was Mr. Daniel Griwsold from the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Like the other forums, it was highly informative. Despite the challenges with the weather, the series went pretty well overall.

Looking back over the past few weeks, I definently have learned the value of being able to improvise, be flexible and just "go with the flow" of things. Sometimes, that's all we really can do. Since planning for these forums began months in advance, now that they are over is a bit of relief.

So, that's what has been happening with my internship. I'll be sure to keep you updated as to what else is happening. For now I'm working on my article for the PJC newsletter.

My next blog post will be more focused on my career goals and plans for after St. Norbert. I've been doing a lot of thinking, talking and some research and I can't wait to share it with you all. Until then, take care! PEACE!

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to start writing this blog and to share my experiences with you. First of all, the majority of my blog entries will focus on my internship experience and the pursuit of figuring out what to do after St. Norbert. Since I am already a junior, graduation is slowly approaching and my thinking is starting to shift towards life after college. I'm undecided about whether I'll go to graduate school or find a job first, but more on that later.

One of the activities that I am involved in this year is my internship. This year I am involved in my first internship on campus and my second internship overall. Last Spring I had an internship in Washington, D.C. at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights but this year, my internship is with the Peace and Justice Center (on campus). The Peace and Justice Center (PJC) is a great place to be a part of. One of it's main goals is to educate individuals about social justice issues.

Each of the interns at the PJC are involved in the planning and implementation of certain activities/events. My major project that just concluded about two weeks ago was in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (we celebrate his holiday on Jan. 21st). Planning for this event started very early last semester and consisted of a lot of meetings, e-mails and phone calls. Nonetheless, the week of activities went off without a hitch and was wonderfull!!

I've learned quite a bit about what it takes to put together such a large event. To give you an idea of what the MLK Celebration was comprised of, here's a listing of the activities: Monday a group of students and faculty went into a local school to teach about Dr. King. Monday and Tuesday students and staff did service at various volunteer sites in the community. On Wednesday, the planning committee lead the Common Prayer service and were joined by a gospel choir from the Milwaukee area. Also on Wednesday, students, faculty and staff, including President Hynes, read excerpts of Dr. King's writings in the Campus Center lounge. The week concluded with a presentation by Dr. Gregory Jay of UW-Milwaukee on the issue of "White Privilege" and a student panel on Wednesday evening.

All the activities of the week went off without any complications and once the week was over, the entire committee smiled and sighed with a sense of accomplishment. I am very glad I had the opportunity to collaborate with so many people and departments on campus to put together something so great! I've certainly learned what it takes to be a leader, work with others and to be patient with the entire process of event planning.

Well, this has become quite a long posting but I thought it would be worth it to share with you an example of the activities that PJC interns work on. Right now, I am working with another intern in the center on a Get InForumed Series before the WI Presidential Primary. The series consists of three informational forums on health care, immigration and the economy. I'll tell you more about how things have gone with that later in the next posting.

Until I write again, I hope everyone takes care and survives the cold weather of February. Hopefully we will be greeted by the warmth of Mother Nature soon! Peace!