Learning Beyond the Classroom
Providing a valuable education depends a great deal on what happens outside of the classroom. That’s why we work hard to assist our students in graduating with less debt, in experiencing a variety of professional development opportunities, and in gaining the hands-on experience that makes a difference in a job search.
Redhawk Speech and Debate
Going strong since the 1930s, Redhawk Speech and Debate is a highly successful and award-winning program. It gives students of any major the opportunity to sharpen and show off their oral communication skills within the arena of argumentation and public address. Since its founding, the team has received impressive awards, including national championships three years consecutively: 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018, placing in the top 5 nationally in 2021, and taking second and third in 2022 at the NEDA national tournament. As a part of its long, proud tradition, Redhawk Speech and Debate is a member of Pi Kappa Delta, a national honor society. Our chapter originated in 1932.
Add More Than a Degree to Your Resume
We look for every opportunity to give our students a competitive edge, to further your education by giving you professional experience as well as a degree. Employers look for detail-oriented self-starters who can work conscientiously and independently. Internships are one of the ways you can get real-world experience.
Information for Internships
Determine whether you qualify
To qualify for SC 483: Internship, a student must have:
- Met with their advisor to discuss requirements and options.
- Identified a site/experience that can be deemed "worthy" of an internship.
- Followed the procedures to gain approval
Identify one or more internship opportunities
Finding an ideal internship is essentially the same as a job search, and that experience, in-and-of-itself is a valuable one, helping prepare you for "the real deal." Hence, searching for an internship is an important part of the process. You do not have to go it alone.
- Career Services has resources to assist.
- The Career & Internship Fairhelps many majors find opportunities.
- Handshakeis a site that lists internship opportunities at the local, regional, and national level.
- We provided pointers in a recent newsletter to majors
Embrace the search experience and you will likely produce good results. Impress your Internship Coordinator with what you turn up as possibilities (This is the next step of the process).
Schedule an initial meeting with the Internship Coordinator
When you’ve found one or more ideal possibilities for an internship, it’s time to consult your Internship Coordinator. You’ll need the following:
- Internship Application- providing specifics on how you qualify and what you’d like to do as an intern (and where and why).
- Whatever information is necessary to “make the case” for a particular internship.
Be ready to discuss how the internship seems ideal for you in terms of your training, interests, and goals.
Be aware of and able to discuss any special requirements for a particular internship. For instance, hospitals and government agencies may require a background check and/or personal liability insurance and/or medical records and/or medical screenings or tests or immunizations.
- Your updated resume (perhaps consulting Career Services to craft it)
- A good draft of a letter applying for one or more of the internships you seek (perhaps consulting Career Services to craft it)
- A completed liability release form.
After assembling these materials, it’s time to make an appointment. Here’s who to contact.
Dr. Abram Book
Academic Hall, 237F
(573) 651-2514
abook@semo.edu
Dr. Lesli Pace
Academic Hall 213A
(573) 651-2247
lkpace@semo.edu
Apply for the internship
This process will vary, from place to place, but generally you will indicate your interest (in a letter of application), provide a resume, and request an interview.
If the organization offers you an internship, they’ll need to complete our Internship Agreement This form ensures everyone is “on the same page” by providing a detailed description of your duties. The onsite supervisor has an obligation to see that you have an adequate opportunity to gain information and/or skills to enhance your career possibilities and to utilize/augment what you’ve learned in your classes at Southeast.
Career Services can assist you with your resume and letter of application, as well as provide pointers for an interview.
Meet with the Internship Coordinator for final approval
When you’ve been offered an Internship, it’s time to meet with the Internship Coordinator again and make the final sales pitch.
To do so, bring along the following items:
- Internship Application (possibly revised since the initial meeting)
- Internship AgreementForm (signed by on-site supervisor
- Letter of Application (possibly revised since the initial meeting)
- Resume (possibly revised since the initial meeting)
- Liability Release
- Any special forms required by that particular internship (e.g., Liability Release and Limited Power of Attorney
Enroll in SC 483
Once the Internship Coordinator has all of your materials and is convinced that the internship is, indeed, a good experience, she will recommend “approval” to the department chairperson. After the department chairperson has signed off, you will have permission to enroll in SC 483. (Note: You will actually do the enrolling, yourself.)
As a student in SC 483, you will report regularly to the Internship Coordinator, who will serve as the instructor for the course.
Finalize
We hope the internship has been a great experience for you. Now is the time to wrap up.
- To derive the best learning requires reflection. Reflect upon your experience by completing the Self-Evaluation & Site Review.
- We also want to “see” what you did. Please provide two representative work samples.
- We can also benefit from what your onsite supervisor has to say. Please remind your onsite supervisor to
- complete the Internship Performance Review
- e-mail his or her review to the Internship Coordinator.
Leave a lasting impression
We appreciate the opportunity the On-Site Supervisor has provided. You — no doubt — appreciate it as well. A thank-you note is certainly in order, isn’t it? Hallmark, or the Southeast Bookstore likely has the perfect card.
Catalog Description and Credit Hours of Course:
Work experience using Spanish in a professional setting in a business or agency. (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites:
- Declared Spanish major
- Junior standing, with completion of a minimum of 24 credit hours in Spanish
- Minimum overall GPA of 2.5 and a GPA of 3.0 in Spanish
- Approval of the Department of Modern Languages, Anthropology and Geography
Purposes and objectives of the course:
- To provide exceptional Spanish majors with the opportunity for professional work experience using Spanish language skills
- To provide the opportunity to work with professionals in the field
- To provide students with additional preparation for employment or admission to graduate schools.
Expectations of students:
- To complete a minimum of 120 work hours in the business or agency
- To complete all work agreed upon by the course instructor and the field supervisor
- To keep a weekly journal with a record of activities
- To complete required outside readings which supplement the work experience
- To participate in meetings with the course instructor
- To submit to the instructor a final course project evaluating and integrating all aspects of the experience
Expectations of the Instructor:
- To maintain contact with the field supervisor in order to coordinate the work of the intern
- To coordinate outside readings with the activities of the intern
- To meet regularly with the intern for progress reports and discussions of readings
- To review the student's journal on a regular basis, evaluate the course project, and assign a grade.
Course Content or Outline:
Course content varies with the internship setting. Course content is established by the field supervisor in conjunction with the course instructor. Activities may include reading and/or translating material in the foreign language, writing summaries, providing telephone communication, and completing other foreign language tasks as needed by the host business or agency.
Textbook:
No textbook is required. Materials needed vary according to the work setting. students are required to read outside material which they may purchase or obtain from the library.
Basis for Student Evaluation:
Evaluation of field supervisor - 35% Participation in discussion of readings - 20%
Student's journal - 20%
Final course project - 25%
Application Process:
Students with exceptional language skills are eligible to apply for internships as they become available. Students must complete an Internship Application available in the Foreign Language Department. Acceptance is based upon the student's language proficiency, academic record, and recommendations by professors. Final determination depends on matching a student's skills and interests with the needs of a business or agency.
Get Connected on Campus
Student organizations in your major can provide you the opportunity to connect with other students who share your academic interests and your classes! Plus, academic student organizations are beneficial for your future career.
Study Abroad
Ecuador
Quito - Universidadde las Americas
France
Angers - Université d'Angers
Germany
Dortmund - Technische Universität Dortmund
Jena - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität
Spain
Leon - Universidad León
Japan
Tokyo - Daito Bunka University
Hualien – National Dong Hwa University
Tuition and an administrative fee of $250/semester are paid at Southeast for each of these exchanges.
Quito, Ecuador
Wintersession, last week of December and the first week of January
Contact:
(573) 651-2061
- Stay with a host family and learn Spanish in context
- Visit Otavalo: shop the largest indigenous market worldwide, hike around Cuicocha Lake and visit Peguche Falls
- Visit Mindo and hike through a cloud forest
- Hike through the Andes mountains
Taipei, Taiwan
Beginning of Summer Session in May
Contact:
Dr. Shu Chuan Wang-McGrath
(573) 651-2061
- Stay in Taipei in Ximen, one of the most famous areas of Taipei
- See the National Museum, Taipei 101, Chiang Kai Shek and Sun Yat Sen Memorial Halls
- Visit Wulai, an indigenous town in the mountains
- Travel to various cities in Taiwan such as Kinmen, Kaohsiung or Hualien
- No Chinese language knowledge needed
Munich, Germany
Wintersession, last week of December and the first week of January
Contact:
Dr. Fred Poston
(573) 651-2061
Take the Next Step
Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701