Internships Are Not Just for the Young Anymore

CBS Sunday Morning (Sunday, August 14, 2011) ran a piece titled “Internships:  A foot in the door? Is it something young people can take advantage of, or are they being taken advantage of?”

It was an interesting piece, but did not present the whole story. There’s more to internships than volunteering one’s skills and the money that is or isn’t received. One new innovation is that internships are no longer just for the young — many are open to all ages.  The Student Conservation Association, which provides stipends with internships, should change their name. Their programs are not just for students do not have age limitations.

Both of my travel guidebooks, Volunteer Vacations Across America and Immersion Travel USA,  have hundreds of opportunities to try out many different fields and positions through internships and other programs before deciding what you really want to do — if that’s in college or after retirement or in between. Explore a passion, plan a career move, or step right into a job by applying for an internship.

If the time commitment of an internship is not for you, consider a short-term volunteer experience. Here are a few featured in Volunteer Vacations Across America and Immersion Travel USA:

The Student Conservation Association
(SCA) is the nation’s largest and oldest provider of conservation service opportunities through a tuition-free summer volunteer program for high school or college students and a 3- to 12-month, expense-paid internship program
for people over 18. SCA’s mission is clear: “To build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land.” http://www.thesca.org/

Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY, offers a wide selection of residencies, classes, activities, scholarship
programs, and internships throughout the year. It is the world’s largest glass museum, featuring 35 centuries of
examples and styles. Instructors from all over the globe teach participants ranging from beginner to more advanced of all ages. http://www.cmog.org/dynamic.aspx?id=11976

Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT), San Francisco Bay Area, CA creates opportunities for at-risk and underprivileged youth in the San Francisco Bay area to get outdoors, explore the wilderness, and experience nature. BAWT offers six-monthinternships in four areas: Development, Program, Marketing, and Climbing for Kids. http://www.bawt.org/

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, Topsail Beach, NC has as its mission the conservation and preservation of all species of marine turtles. The center protects nests, nesting females, and hatchings, and is involved with the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick and injured turtles and with educating the public about sea turtles. Internships with housing provided are available year round for a minimum 12-week period.  http://www.seaturtlehospital.org/

Adventures in Preservation (AiP), Boulder, CO, is a non-profit organization offering volunteer vacations designed
as hands-on building conservation workshops, which are held at a variety of locations around the world. Their mission is to save the world’s architectural heritage by supporting community-driven preservation projects that seek to create economic and environmental sustainability.

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An Alternative Spring Break Volunteer Vacation

The Tamarisk Stump

Here’s one of my favorite alternative spring vacation service learning and volunteer vacation trips have become so popular that many schools have huge waiting lists and use a lottery system to select participants. Here’s a great trip that students can raise the costs to cover their activities, room, board and participation before they go.
Plateau Restoration, a nonprofit organization since 1995, is a licensed guide and outfitter that offers land-based excursions, river journeys, and custom trips throughout southern Utah, western Colorado, and northern Arizona. They provide meaningful, fun-filled opportunities for people to participate in the preservation and rehabilitation of public lands through service-learning, volunteer vacations, and adventure education programs.
Service-learning is defined as educational enrichment programming integrated with active, hands-on community service. Plateau Restoration’s focus is on building a connection with nature and encouraging an active role in long-term conservation. Activities include trail building, fencing, planting, seed collection, controlling exotic species, research, and monitoring recreation impacts. Programs emphasize the interconnections between soil, vegetation, wildlife, humans, and the landscape. Interactive, multi-environment experiences encourage you to become better informed about desert ecosystems and the forces that give rise to the dramatic landscapes.
Plateau Restoration works with instructors and guides with over 20 years of field experience leading and instructing courses in the canyon country. University credit is available on many programs.

Brad’s Story, Plateau Restoration, Moab, Utah (also included in my book, VOLUNTEER VACATIONS ACROSS AMERICA)

“I had so much fun. I flew out to Moab, Utah, from
Johnson City, Tennessee, to volunteer with five groups
of college kids on service-learning vacations. It was
absolutely wonderful. That’s one of my favorite things
to do, and I’m very proud to be part of it.
We did projects in a number of locations around
Moab. We worked and stayed at Ken’s Lake, named for
a gentleman who was the mayor in Moab. My goodness,
we did trail maintenance and rerouting trails,
where we actually had to go in and create new trails,
building water breaks and cribbing high-erosion areas.
“The biggest project was at Arches National Park by
Delicate Arch. We were removing some vegetation,
digging out roots—holey moley, some were 3 to 4 feet
long. Hard work when it’s so hot out there; those kids
just ate it up.
“I go on a service-learning vacation every year. It’s
awesome, and the kids really benefited from it and
enjoyed themselves, and so did I. It was my vacation
time away from my job, and as always, it was time very
well spent. I returned home revved, revived, rejuvenated,
and looking forward to next year.”

Plateau Restoration: P.O. Box 1363, Moab UT 84532; 435-259-7733; http://www.plateaurestoration.org; info@plateaurestoration.org; daily rate ranges from $20 to $75 per person.

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Learn How To Mush!

I’m yearning to take an all girls long weekend break. I admit, I’ve never done this before, but when I heard about Wintermoon Summersun Adventures in Brimson, Minnesota, I made it my goal to recruit three girlfriends and my two daughters and see if we could all agree on one weekend, not a small feat, where we would get together, have fun, and learn how to mush.
“I went on a weekend’s dogsledding adventure and fell in love with the dogs, the outdoors, and bonding with the women,” says sled dog breeder and trainer Kathleen Anderson. “That was 20 years ago and I was 37 and aware that I had slowly been changing my life, but I had no intention of owning 37 dogs and running trips for women!
“I think it’s important to try some activities that take us out of our comfort zone. I know I wasn’t encouraged to participate in sports growing up, but I really enjoy and benefit from physical activity that enables me to push myself and take risks in a safe and supported way,” continues Anderson. “When women take risks, the experience transfers into other parts of their lives.”
The 37 Alaskan huskies are part of a team working together and they respond to verbal commands, which I can’t say about many of the people I know. As you can imagine, guests develop an immediate bond and rapport with the dogs. It’s really neat to connect with another species and have that respect and total involvement with each other. Part of the experience at Wintermoon Summersun is learning how to mush but everyone also helps with the care of the dog team: watering, feeding, hooking the dogs up to the gangline, and driving the sled.
All guests stay in the home Anderson built herself, totally off the grid with solar power, wood heat, an organic garden, and a Finnish sauna for bathing. I thought the hardest part would be finding a weekend to fit everyone’s schedules and coordinating flights, arrivals and departures. I was surprised when my first girlfriend I invited said no, the trip didn’t appeal to her. My daughter lifted my spirits by responding to the invitation, “Way to go Mom! This sounds great!” I believe sharing this environment and the joy of mushing with my daughters and friends will be a fantastic winter weekend getaway and an experience none of us will ever forget.

Wintermoon Summersun Adventures (3388 Petrell Rd., Brimson, MN 55602; http://www.wintermoonsummersun.com; wintermoon@brimson.com;

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Close to Woodstock

Jay and Molly are the team behind the Ashokan Fiddlin’ & Dancin’ experience.

Ever get tired of the same old, same old? Stir things up with a visit to the Fiddle & Dance Camp in Saugerties, New York. It’s an amazing place.
During the summer you can go there for a one week of Camp for all ages: intense music-making, dancing, eating, talking, laughing, communing with nature, and listening to some of the finest music around (www.ashokan.org). An enthused participant says, “Dance Camp is essentially about becoming part of a community.”
I’ve been thinking about Ashokan a lot with the spotlight this year on the original Woodstock Festival, the new movie “Taking Woodstock,” and the recently held 40th Anniversary celebration. Woodstock was not only about the sensational music, it was also about people coming together, uniting in love, peace and hope. Those vibes are very much alive in the Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp, only about ten minutes from the town of Woodstock.
After interviewing Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, performers, composers, and teachers specializing in 19th- and 20th-century American folk songs and dance music, who have run the camp for over 20 years, and including their story in my book, IMMERSION TRAVEL USA, I knew I had to get there.
Always looking for a new way to enjoy New Year’s Eve, I attended New Year’s Eve in Ashokan, a yearly event, and literally danced the night away to Cajun, swing and country blues with the Red Stick Ramblers, Swingology Band, and Jay and Molly. I particularly liked the contra and square dancing, and watching the people who really knew how to dance! There were free dancing lessons after dinner and before the music started — good move! I needed the classes and learned a lot. Participation was intergenerational, from very young children to octogenarians, or possibly older. Luckily, you don’t need to wait for December 31 to visit – there are lots of activities between now and then.
During the summer you’ll find the perfect combination of summer canoeing and hiking on 300 acres in the Catskill Mountains and weeks of music and dancing programs. There’s eclectic western and swing, contra, Lindy, West Coast country & western, Cajun, barn dances, square dances, two-step partner dances, and much more. Classes are taught by experts from all over the country who enjoy teaching and jamming.
It’s common to see a young person sitting knee-to-knee playing tunes with someone decades older, and both absorbed and intent on music-making. From beginners to professionals, people learn new things and build strong connections with each other. Start planning your costume now for the Halloween Costume Ball at Ashokan
Saturday, October 31st. This is part of the Ashokan Center’s fabulous Fall Festival with daytime activities including nature hikes, mini-concerts, and more. Halloween Evening will begin at 6pm with dinner, Contras called by David Kaynor, a costume competition, and swing dancing and waltzes to the big band sounds of Swingology. The grounds are beautiful, the food is very good, the people are warm and lovely, and the shopping is great! Woodstock is definitely the place to go for extraordinary tie-dye wearable art.

For more information: Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camp (P.O. Box 49, Saugerties, NY 12477; 845-246-2121; http://www.ashokan.org; office@ashokan.org; about $800 per person for a full week includes bunkhouse or camping, all meals, classes, and workshops; work scholarships and trades of services are available. Weekend events are very modestly priced.
Visiting Woodstock, NY, don’t miss the Museum at Bethel Woods: The Story of the Sixties and the Woodstock Museum.
For great barbecue, stop by the Hickory Barbecue and Smokehouse, Route 28 between Kingston and Woodstock, for great BBQ salmon and brisket. Enjoy everything you do!
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason’s Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp is featured in IMMERSION TRAVEL USA: THE BEST AND MOST MEANINGFUL LIVING AND LEARNING EXCURSIONS (Countryman Press, 2009)

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How I Became an Immersion Traveler

Traveling solo means you get to do whatever you choose.

  

I became an immersion traveler three months after my divorce became final. My first trip on my own was a long weekend. My ex moved in to stay with our teenage daughters; I went to a spa on Long Island. It was pretty wonderful, but on the first day I realized I needed to do more than be pampered. I asked my masseuse what her favorite activity was and she invited me to join her that afternoon, painting the house of a senior citizen in her neighborhood. I’d never painted a room before, but I pitched in and learned how to prepare a wall and begin painting it. The next morning, on my nature hike, I asked the leader where she liked to take her kids on weekends. She told me about a wonderful installation art museum I’d never heard of before.

The add-on activities became my most cherished memories from that weekend – in addition, of course, to the facial and hot stones massage.

 

It’s not like I was new to traveling after my divorce. I’d traveled extensively with my ex, but that was a whole different world. I didn’t really take part in the planning, my fault. I left the decisions about where to go and what to see to him, my mistake. He always seemed to know where he wanted to go and it sounded good to me. I was more the passive traveler. My contribution here and there was adding places I knew about from reading or experience. When we were in Milan and Vienna I made it a priority to go to the opera and in Florence I insisted on time for the flea markets, and in Rome, I knew exactly where to go for the best tartufo – my favorite Italian ice cream dessert made with Neapolitan gelato scooped into balls and covered with dark chocolate.

 

Once I found myself single and on my own, I remembered how I’d always wanted to take one of those long, exotic-sounding immersion travel trips to Europe or Costa Rica to jump into a different culture, learn the language, experience the food, traditions, and activities as a local and become one of them. I’d never taken a trip like that because of time and money constraints, but it sounded like the most meaningful way for me to travel, to get involved.

 

Voila. Immersion Travel USA was born. I applied the concept of European Immersion Travel right here, to my own way of life with accessible travel opportunities. Living life on a tight budget with my newly found single freedom, I learned to expand and increase my travel experiences in mostly free or very inexpensive ways.

 

Weekend getaways with the family became outdoor adventures in State Parks where the girls and I could volunteer our time and talents doing a wide variety of needed jobs, hike, enjoy each other, and camp out or stay in really cute cabins with modern facilities for about $50 for the weekend.

As a writer and single mom, I desperately needed think-time on my own. I did some research and learned that the National Park Service (NPS) has an extensive Volunteers-in-Parks (VIP) program (www.nps.gov/archive/volunteer/air.htm). Twenty-nine national parks currently offer artist-in-residence programs, including Acadia National Park, Maine; Buffalo National River, Arkansas; Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio; Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming; Herbert Hoover National Historical Site, Iowa; Isle Royale National Park, Michigan; and North Cascades National Park, Washington among others.

 

The artist-in-residence programs bring together professionals in the arts to publicize, share, and preserve resources in our national parks and to educate and communicate with the public.  Search “Artist-in-Residence” at http://www.nps.gov; a few programs charge a nominal, nonrefundable application fee. Visual artists, photographers, sculptors, performers, writers, composers, craftspeople, and other artists are invited to apply to live and work in the parks. I applied and received free housing and a free pass to the Everglades National Park, and free time to devote to my writing.

 Immersion travel includes Helping (volunteering), Learning (new skills), Working (short and longer term jobs, many freebies or trades), Caring (animals’ rights and care and the arts), and Playing (out of the box fun stuff!)– great activities for all ages and stages of life. And I haven’t forgotten about spa possibilities. I’ve just learned there is more to a weekend than pampering–and combining pampering, learning, hiking, and growing is just my style.

 

 

Parker Dam, PA

 

 

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