Many opportunities exist for students interested in premed, science, and healthcare careers especially if they have an interest in participating in research. Medical and graduate schools look for applicants who have had a broad range of laboratory and research experience and the more exposure students have to these types of opportunities, the better. The National Institute of Health offers many unique research opportunities as well as internships that are available through The American Medical Student Association.

Recently I learned about a new opportunity for students interested in premed and healthcare. RateADrug offers college students a unique opportunity to work with prescription drug users by actually documenting their personal experiences when taking the drug. I believe that this offers an opportunity for students to really make a difference while giving them exposure to working with people regarding health issues and learning more about all of the drugs that are currently on the market.

The PreMed Prescription Drug and Experience Program has college students conduct surveys with prescription drug users. This information is posted online and encourages other users to participate. Many people who begin taking a particular drug, never even go back to their doctor to report the results. Oftentimes patients ignore potentially dangerous symptoms resulting from a drug and may blame their physical condition on a virus or indigestion. Having an online community like RateADrug can be very useful in learning about and sharing valuable information on the effects of numerous prescription drugs prescribed by doctors every day.

The Hawaii chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has print and broadcast journalism internships available for the summer. Hawaii residents who have completed their sophomore year and are attending college in Hawaii or anyone who has completed high school in Hawaii and is attending college in Hawaii or elsewhere, are given first preference for all positions.

Location:

Honolulu, Hawaii

Benefits:

Interns working at various newspapers are paid a minimum of $3,250 for 10 week sessions, 40 hours per week. Broadcast interns work 8 week sessions, 27 hours per week, and receive $1,750. This is an opportunity to get some valuable hands on experience in journalism.

Students and new graduates interested in the field of journalism will find that employers look for candidates who have experience working in the field. By taking advantage of summer internship opportunities as well as getting some experience working on your college newspaper or other publications, students will make themselves much more attractive to employers once they graduate and begin their job search.

To Apply:

Application forms are available online. All candidates must submit an application, a letter of introduction (cover letter), samples of work, and a copy of a college transcript.

Deadline:

All applications must be postmarked no later than February 17, 2009 and mailed to:

Internship Committee
SPJ-Hawaii Chapter
c/o 1314 S. King Street #718
Honolulu, HI 96814

For more information contact: Craig DeSilva, SPJ-Hawaii's Internship chair, at (808) 282-1038 or at cdesilva@hotmail.com for more information.

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The University of Dreams (UOD) is an all-inclusive internship placement service that offers opportunities for college students in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington D.C., Barcelona, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Costa Rica. Periodically I receive questions about the legitimacy of the program and if I would recommend UOD to students.

First of all, UOD is a legitimate program offering a substantial number of internships to students in very reputable companies in the U.S. and abroad. UOD summer programs include housing, a meal plan, activities, and seminars as well. Although I think the cost of the program can be prohibitive for many students, due to UOD's professional connections, I do believe that students may be able to get an internship through UOD that they might have difficulty getting otherwise. For this reason, I highly recommend that students look closely at the Scholarship Programs that UOD offers.

Students can get a quality internship experience with UOD, along with a welcome dinner, orientation, career coaching, resume and interviewing tips, career building seminars, and weekend activities. The program is similar to a college experience where housing and meals are provided along with UOD staff that is available 24 hours a day. Participating employers like it because UOD reviews and recommends all candidates and it saves the employer valuable time in the recruiting process.

Although UOD can be an excellent experience for those students who can afford it, I would first recommend that students who are looking for a summer internship, seek assistance from their Career Services Office at their college or apply for a UOD scholarship.

The Cleveland Jewish News is seeking summer interns for 2009. They are accepting students who have completed at least their first year of college by June of this year. This internship offers students an opportunity to write feature stories and community news while getting paid for their efforts. Since many internships in journalism tend to have early deadlines to apply (October/November), the February 27^th deadline is also an attractive feature and makes it still possible for those students who are living in Ohio or willing to temporarily relocate to still be able to apply for a summer internship in journalism.

The first step in applying for this position involves writing a cover letter describing your qualifications and why you feel you’d make a good intern. Also, CJN is interested in seeing any stories you have previously published. This is an excellent opportunity for underclassmen to develop their writing talents and gain valuable experience in the field.

Since many internships and jobs in the field of journalism require strong writing skills and previous experience, the ability for students who are currently in their first and sophomore years of college to participate in such an opportunity can really jump start their future career.

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