Learn From Experience

This summer, 22 CSB and SJU students participated in our Washington, D.C., Summer Study Program. Some spent their days roaming the corridors of power with influential legislators and thought leaders. Stephanie Haeg '18 spent hers hanging out with Indiana Jones’ fedora and Benjamin Franklin’s printing press. She was pretty happy about it.

The beauty of the liberal arts education we provide is the range of opportunities it offers. Even students outside of traditional liberal arts majors are able to tap into broad experiences like the Summer Study Program. Economics majors have interned with the World Bank. Environmental studies majors work for the EPA or environmental policy organizations. Natural science majors often work for health policy groups. Fine arts and humanities majors intern with organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts. There are literally thousands of intense, interesting, competitive internships in Washington, D.C. Stephanie, an English and history major, spent her summer as one of three reference interns in the Archives Center at the Smithsonian Institution. She was quite well prepared because of her experiences at Saint Ben’s. She’s worked in the CSB archives since her first year on campus. Being a student worker “gave me many of the cataloging, digitizing and professional skills that made it much easier,” she explains. Blending broad-based coursework with experiential learning opens up big possibilities for Saint Ben’s students. “The scope of the Archives Center is enormous,” Stephanie says. “It was amazing getting to work with the historical documents and artifacts.”