SoundWaters Summer Internship Program
| Eligibility: | Current juniors and seniors |
| Award: | $3,000 plus room and board provided aboard the schooner |
| Deadline: | Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 12 p.m. |
| Application: | See application requirements below |
Summer 2008
Purpose
This program funds a student to work as an educator/deckhand aboard SoundWaters, an 80-foot, three-masted schooner docked in Stamford, Connecticut.
About SoundWaters
SoundWaters' Floating Classroom Program offers a multi-disciplinary environmental curriculum for children and adults in Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties in New York, and Fairfield County in Connecticut. Educators live and teach aboard SoundWaters. For more information on this program visit the SoundWaters Web site or contact Captain Justin Cathcart at 203.406.3310.
The intern working with SoundWaters will begin working in mid-June and finish by mid-August, for a total of 8-10 weeks (the exact number of weeks to be worked will be established with Captain Cathcart prior to starting the internship). The work week consists of 8 hour days, 6 days a week.
Responsibilities include:
- Participating in the interdisciplinary on-board education programs, including environmental and nautical science.
- Teaching small group hands-on activities at the schooner's learning stations.
- Developing new learning stations when necessary to meet group needs.
- Preparing and maintaining education equipment.
- Preparing the schooner for program each morning and sharing in daily chores.
- Assisting with the sailing of the schooner.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be currently enrolled Wellesley College juniors or seniors.
- Be in pursuit of degree and / or career in science (biology, geology, chemistry, etc.), history, or other field with some experience teaching young people preferred.
- Enjoy working with people, especially children.
- Have strong verbal communication skills and lots of ENTHUSIASM!
- Must feel comfortable in a close knit, cooperative living and working situation.
- Willing to live aboard the schooner and participate in the shipboard community.
- Musical ability, particularly singing, a big plus.
Application Requirements
All applications must include:
- a completed application form located on the SoundWaters Web site: http://www.soundwaters.org/help/jobs/educator_deckhand.shtml;
- a current resume;
- a current transcript (may be unofficial);
The SoundWaters program requires that the original application materials plus one copy be submitted to Melissa Hawkins (GRH 441) by the deadline date and time. The copies may be double-sided.
Participant Requirements
During the spring before their internships, award recipients must attend the following mandatory meetings:
- three pre-internship workshops, dates to be determined
- a meeting to sign a contract agreeing to complete 350 hours of work over the summer at their internship placement
By September 12, 2008, students awarded a stipend from the Center for Work and Service will be required to:
- submit a 3-5 page essay that reflects on their internship experience;
- submit the completed learning contract and supervisor evaluation;
- write a thank you note to the donor of the stipend.
Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the Tanner Conference, a one-day conference held each fall that celebrates the incorporation of students' off-campus learning experiences into their education. The conference will provide a venue for students to reflect critically upon, analyze and share their off-campus experiences with others in the college community through panel presentations, roundtables, and information sessions.
Stipend
A $3,000 stipend will be awarded to the recipient of the SoundWaters Internship. Room and board will be provided aboard the schooner. Students will not receive the $200 weekly stipend offered by the SoundWaters. The College will pay $500 to SoundWaters for the intern's room and board.
Stipends will be distributed in two installments. The initial installment will be given in May after all required contracts have been signed and returned to the Center for Work and Service. This initial installment will be $500 less than the award amount listed for the program. The remaining $500 will be given to you after the Center for Work and Service has received a copy of your thank you letter to the donor, your essay, and the other follow up materials required by the stipend.