Search Alma: > Log-in to my Alma


News Releases

Students Spend Summer Learning, Working in Chicago

Six Alma College students participated in the off-campus Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture program this summer.

Beth Hubbard, Megan Crawford, Kristin Senter, Sarah Lindesmith, Okwara Uzoh and Diana Walton spent eight weeks earning credit by learning about the city of Chicago while participating in professional internships.

Hubbard, a senior from Oxford, interned at Community Television Network, a nonprofit that provides film classes for high school students.

“I am assisting the instructors with the class and learning about the film production process,” said Hubbard. “The theatre in Chicago is amazing. The selection of great plays is unbelievable.”

Crawford, a senior from Fenton, interned as a journalist for StreetWise, a nonprofit weekly newspaper in Chicago dedicated to getting impoverished individuals out of poverty.

Senter, a senior from Grand Ledge, interned at the League of Chicago Theatres, a nonprofit that coordinates marketing for more than 190 theatres in the Chicago area.

 In addition to working as interns four days a week, the students participated in a Chicago Center seminar called “Chicago Communities and Cultures.” They visited different neighborhoods and met with local leaders.

“My Chicago experience has been very eye-opening; it’s so easy to forget that there is an interesting, diverse world outside of Alma’s academic bubble,” said Crawford. “Yet, this summer, I’ve met Jesse Jackson, watched Barack Obama speak and attended so many amazing cultural events. I’ve had the chance to interact with minority sectors that don’t have a large representation in Alma.”
 
The students participated in events that make up the city as a whole and not just the usual tourist traps, said Senter.

“It is amazing how different the city becomes when you stop being a tourist and become a resident,” said Senter.

Students live in Hyde Park in furnished apartments with typically two to three other students. All utilities and a grocery charge account are provided as part of the program.

The Chicago Center program operates during the academic semesters as well as the eight-week Summer Session these Alma students participated in.

For more information, contact Chicago Center Campus Liaison Ginna Holmes at the Academic and Career Planning Office. Students also can learn more about the Chicago Center on the Web.

-mjs-

 

 

Alma College students report levels of educational experiences and faculty interaction that exceed the national norms by significant amounts, according to the findings of the 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement. In the 2006 study, Alma students reported a level of interaction with faculty that ranked among the top five percent in the nation.

 

Student Profile

Brett Seymoure

Brett Seymoure
Graduation: 2009
Major: Biology
From: Paw Paw, Michigan
Interests: Sports, Politics

Alma’s close faculty-student interaction provides numerous benefits such as the ability to do undergraduate research on a graduate level. Alma’s professors treat students more as peers welcoming student input and collaboration on faculty projects. When students are involved in research, faculty aggressively pursue publication of findings including students as co-authors.