Internship vs. undergraduate research – what is the difference?
Paulina Smietanka ‘14 and Jim Stellar
This is our third blog. We already wrote on her first public school and second private clinic internship experience. Now our goal is to compare those internship experiences to the experience of working in a lab of a college professor – a different kind of internship.
Paulina, please first just describe your undergraduate research experience.
The study I participated in was designed to attain information on Polish bilingualism, literacy practices conducted by parents, educational planning, and early education and care. Further, I intended to learn about the parents/caregivers and their language use, education and work. There was much emphasis on Greenpoint, Brooklyn due to its dominant Polish population and thus, it served as a playground for me to uncover just how important those factors were in today’s Polish American community. My role in the undergraduate research experience was to first, research information on the Polish language, immigration to the U.S. and Greenpoint, the Polish-American culture and basic demographics. After gathering all the necessary information, I had to find a Polish school that was willing to allow me to conduct a survey. Due to strict school regulations and a limited number of Polish schools, this was surely a task. Luckily, Principal Danuta Bronchard of Konopnicka Polish Supplementary School approved. By the end of the school year, I had roughly 60 surveys from 60 different Polish households in Greenpoint.
The experience itself was a privilege. It certainly isn’t the same as any other internship because the main priority is to seek out information about a community, language, or culture and to understand how external elements matter when conducting therapy. Being part of the bilingual literacy lab took me to the next level as a future practitioner, allowing me to see the importance of learning about each family individually and bringing about therapy that will work for each child.
How about the impact on you as a student?
I was able to engage in the process of attaining knowledge by myself. I was able to study something I was interested in, something that also was directly related to me. None of my other experiences have allowed me to do that. I have also been exposed to the importance of bilingualism itself, in all cultures. Considering the U.S. is known for its diverse population, there are mixed emotions on bilingualism from both natives and newcomers. As a country always moving in the direction of progress, it is important for language to be respected. In the therapeutic field, this may be achieved by enlightening parents on the positive effects of bilingualism and also meet the comfort needs of a child. Instead of a second language being portrayed as an iceberg, it should be visible on the surface in its entirety. Again, I feel this strengthened my experience as someone who will someday treat speech patients.
Twice you referred to yourself as a future practitioner. Do you think that all practitioners should do an internship in a clinic and one in a lab and if so why?
Definitely! Honestly, the answer is pretty simple. I think the more open minded a student is, the more they can learn about their field and themselves. I’m a believer in: no experience can be experienced twice, not even in the same place. So I urge all students, not just practitioners, to go the extra step beyond the classroom and experience their field for what it truly is. Whether it’s interning, volunteering, stopping in for a few short minutes, or research, it’s all a movement toward growth. The fact that I have explored various settings and have exposed myself to different types of therapy, I have a clearer picture of my intentions, interests, and where I want to be in a few years. Also, a student will have the privilege of either being reassured that they are in the right major, or they will be directed where they are supposed to be. It’s a win, win situation if you ask me. Plus, you meet great people along the way! That alone, makes it valuable.
What is different between these experiences of an internship in a clinic or a company and undergraduate research is much less important than what is similar between them. To us that is the factor of engagement. Something has to touch the student inside to create an inspiration that drives learning and growth in college. Fear of failing a test can make a student study in a classroom situation and those fears can exist in an internship too, but they tend to be local and the energy dissipates after the task or test has passed. Engagement, on the other hand, is not only positive, it is persistent. It leads students to improve themselves. Facts and theory learning in the curriculum can then help the inspired student further that engagement. College has it easy with such students as they practically teach themselves. Of course, one can get engaged just from the classroom, but experiential learning, like undergraduate research or internships, can also do it and in a different way through what we call here the “other lobe of the brain.”