Well, the semester began and once it started it continued to barrel like a runaway snowball. Each week the Center for Global Studies has taken on a new task. Interns, graduate assistants, and advisors alike have all kept themselves busy with World Stories Alive, the Brown Bag Series, and even beginning some research on new opportunities for CGS (to be revealed next semester!) After officially making it halfway through my final semester here at Penn State (and almost to Senior year Spring break), I’ve taken away some very valuable lessons.

Lesson 1: Communication, communication, and more communication. This has been our ultimate downfall this semester. Between coordinating our busy schedules and a multitude of various communication channels including Facebook, Groupme, e-mail, and text, our organizational skills have been lacking luster to say the least. That being said, we’re learning from the mistakes. Excel will your best friend if you let it, and sometimes you just need to call an emergency all hands on deck meeting. Let’s face it, the easiest way to get things done is by handling it in person.

Lesson 2: GO TO THE EVENTS. I cannot stress this enough. You can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge an event by its title. Last month, in a pinch to write an article for our monthly newsletter, I attended a talk on religious freedom and its impact on a global and local scale. While this isn’t usually a topic that would have me setting my alarm at 9am to go to, I found myself sincerely engaged and interested in the implications of Dr. Finke’s research. I left the lecture wondering why more people haven’t taken an interest in these topics. Which leads me to my last lesson.

Lesson 3: Publicize. The Center for Global Studies offers so many enriching events, conferences, and opportunities to attend, but we can only educate the people who show up. We’re working on finding more creative ways to get the word out to the public (a process that has been greatly facilitated by the presence of our new marketing intern, Lauren). Whether it’s by flyers, social media, or mass e-mails, publicizing our events will always be one of the most important factors in successfully promoting global education.

With two more months to go I hope to finish out the internship on a strong note. I hope these lessons learned through CGS continue to make me a more well-rounded and educated student. I’ve come to learn so much about global studies, and plan to gain as much experience as I can in my remaining weeks here.