DU’s extended break between Thanksgiving and early January gives students an opportunity to do a variety of things while they’re away from campus.
For instance, a group from DU’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies spent one week making connections in the nation’s capital.
The 35 students participated in Korbel’s DC Career Connections Program, which is organized by the school’s career services department. The program provides opportunities for students to make connections that may lead to a job after graduation.
Heather Beebe is working on a master’s degree in international security with a certificate in homeland security. She and several Korbel students on the trip met with Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey (MA ’80) at the Pentagon to learn more about professional opportunities and operations at the Department of Defense.
“Having lunch with Gen. Casey was one of the highlights of the DC Career Connections trip,” say Beebe. “We expected him to walk in while we were having lunch, say ‘Hello,’ and then depart to deal with more important matters. Instead, he sat amongst us during the entire meal and discussed issues that we found interesting and wanted to learn more about, such as the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Beebe says the career connections program is one of the best experiences offered by the Korbel School. She is interested in a position that will take her to either China or Europe after graduation.
While most of the group was meeting and having lunch with Casey, Matthew Finger was taking his oral assessment with the Department of State. Finger expects to graduate in 2011 with a master’s degree in international security and is focused on Latin American studies.
“I made the decision to seek this degree to aid me in becoming a foreign service officer so visiting the State Department was very exciting to me,” says Finger. “As a group, we visited with DU alumni, were able to observe States’s main crisis management center, and get a feel for the atmosphere of the State Department headquarters.”
Other locations visited by the students were the CIA and U.S. Institute of Peace.