Since its founding, Bush School students, faculty and staff have had an international impact through internships, study abroad and language immersion programs, capstone projects, conferences, and other research endeavors. During the summer of 2015, Bush School students could be found in 21 countries outside the US including Argentina, Belgium, China, Costa Rica, Jordan, Morocco, and Russia.
Internationally, students served in internships with the US Department of State (including embassies in Peru, Singapore, and China), US European Command, and the US Commercial Service, among many others. Domestically, Bush School students could be found within a variety of organizations including the US Senate, US Department of Energy, US Drug Enforcement Agency, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and nonprofits such as the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
“Having this kind of real world experience while in school significantly enhances our students’ education,” said Dr. Arnold Vedlitz. “They see how government and nonprofit organizations operate, and how what they are learning at the Bush School relates to their career choices. We’re grateful to the many organizations that provide this opportunity to our students.”
Bush School students seeking to learn new languages found opportunities to study through language immersions around the globe including China, France, Germany, Korea, Russia, and Spain. Popular languages for study included Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. The School provided a combined total of $214,500 in additional internship and language immersion funding to assist students completing unpaid internships and immersions.
This past year, Bush School faculty and students could also be found conducting research in international locations. A team of students took part in recent field research conducted by Dr. Jessica Gottlieb in Senegal for two months of intensive field work on how local elites influence voter behavior. Other recent research has included work for Bosch Stiftung which culminated in a trip to Germany for students, led by Dr. Gabriela Thornton, to present their findings on trilateral relations among the US, Germany, and China.
International Affairs students and faculty traveled to Europe this past summer, including a trip to Italy, led by Dr. Joseph Cerami. Dr. Chris Layne gave an invited lecture at the Dutch Foreign Ministry, and also spoke at a meeting co-sponsored by the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Atlantic Committee. Drs. Chris Layne and Gabriela Thornton participated in a roundtable discussion on transatlantic relations in Amsterdam and gave lectures at the University of Bucharest.
During the summer of 2015, in order to highlight the many ways the School is making a global impact, the Bush School’s Student and Career Services and the Office of Communications and External Relations launched the #BushGoesGlobal social media initiative. The purpose of the initiative, which will continue through the 2015-2016 academic year, is to showcase, share, and collect data on the activities of students, faculty, and staff both at home and abroad. Members of the Bush School community participate in the social media initiative by posting pictures of themselves in their various locations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #BushGoesGlobal.
