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- Rozovsky wins prestigious NSF Early Career Award
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- March 31-May 14: REP stages Neil Simon's 'The Good Doctor'
- April 2: Newark plans annual 'wine and dine'
- April 5: Expert perspective on U.S. health care
- April 5: Comedian Ace Guillen to visit Scrounge
- April 6, May 4: School of Nursing sponsors research lecture series
- April 6-May 4: Confucius Institute presents Chinese Film Series on Wednesdays
- April 6: IPCC's Pachauri to discuss sustainable development in DENIN Dialogue Series
- April 7: 'WVUDstock' radiothon concert announced
- April 8: English Language Institute presents 'Arts in Translation'
- April 9: Green and Healthy Living Expo planned at The Bob
- April 9: Center for Political Communication to host Onion editor
- April 10: Alumni Easter Egg-stravaganza planned
- April 11: CDS session to focus on visual assistive technologies
- April 12: T.J. Stiles to speak at UDLA annual dinner
- April 15, 16: Annual UD push lawnmower tune-up scheduled
- April 15, 16: Master Players series presents iMusic 4, China Magpie
- April 15, 16: Delaware Symphony, UD chorus to perform Mahler work
- April 18: Former NFL Coach Bill Cowher featured in UD Speaks
- April 21-24: Sesame Street Live brings Elmo and friends to The Bob
- April 30: Save the date for Ag Day 2011 at UD
- April 30: Symposium to consider 'Frontiers at the Chemistry-Biology Interface'
- April 30-May 1: Relay for Life set at Delaware Field House
- May 4: Delaware Membrane Protein Symposium announced
- May 5: Northwestern University's Leon Keer to deliver Kerr lecture
- May 7: Women's volleyball team to host second annual Spring Fling
- Through May 3: SPPA announces speakers for 10th annual lecture series
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- Through May 4: 'Research on Race, Ethnicity, Culture' topic of series
- Through May 9: Black American Studies announces lecture series
- Through May 11: 'Challenges in Jewish Culture' lecture series announced
- Through May 11: Area Studies research featured in speaker series
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- Through July 15: 'Bodyscapes' on view at Mechanical Hall Gallery
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- UD Bookstore announces spring break hours
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- April 8-29: Faculty roundtable series considers student engagement
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1:25 p.m., Sept. 9, 2010----As soon as University of Delaware senior Taina Oquendo began her summer internship this year, she heard the same question from almost everyone: “Why is an anthropology major working in the White House?”
By the middle of the summer, Oquendo, who has a double major in psychology and an interest in early childhood studies, said she had an answer for that question. “It's true that even though I've always been interested in political issues, I haven't been really involved in the details of politics,” she said. “But I think people like me can bring a different perspective to government service and advocate from other points of view besides a political one, and I think that's important.”
Oquendo, who called the internship “a life-changing experience,” was encouraged to apply by her father, who happened across a mention of the program on the White House website. After a highly selective process, which included writing application essays and discussing her interest in community service -- a key aspect of the internship program -- Oquendo was among the 130 interns chosen for placement in various offices in the White House for the summer.
Her workplace was in the Office of Presidential Personnel, which oversees the selection process for presidential appointments throughout the administration. Oquendo said she assisted staff members as they worked to identify and recruit potential candidates to represent the president's priorities by serving in departments and agencies across the federal government.
“These are people who are going to be key policy makers, who are going to be shaping our future,” she said. “It was really exciting and rewarding.”
The unpaid interns worked long hours but had enormous opportunities to learn about government service and to be part of a nurturing and collegial team, Oquendo said. The program offered a range of professional development activities in addition to the regular workday, including assistance with résumé writing and interviewing and a speaker series that enabled the interns to hear from Vice President Joe Biden, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and others.
“The whole experience was very empowering, to be around these top people and to feel that I was making a contribution,” Oquendo said. “I also learned that there's a lot of integrity in government service. The individuals I worked with were very hard-working, and everybody was there because they wanted to do the right thing and to make a difference.”
All the interns also performed some community service, with Oquendo volunteering with youngsters at a local YMCA, and they took part in occasional other activities such as leading visitors on White House tours.
For Oquendo, the experience has caused her to rethink her career plans, which originally focused on a private practice in child psychology. Now, she said, she's thinking about the effect she could have if she got involved in helping to shape public policy on children's issues.
“My whole trajectory has changed,” she said. “By impacting policy, you can help millions of people, not just individuals.”
Article by Ann Manser
Photo by Ambre Alexander