Internship Positions

Internship in Berlin
Michael Haley

What made me turn down the opportunity to travel freely through Europe for my two months Semesterferien? The opportunity to work in the Deutscher Bundestag! At first I was pretty skeptical about the possibility that the German parliament would want to take me on as an intern. In my interview with Axel Berg however, (the Social-democratic representative from Munich with whom I would later work) he seemed very enthusiastic about the possibility of showing a foreign student how the German government works.

As an intern I had the chance to sit in all of the committee and congressional meetings I wanted. In addition, I got to see how a real government representative's office worked. The intimate atmosphere made it possible for me to know each of my coworkers personally, which really enhanced my experience.

Among other things, I got to help Axel prepare for meetings, see Angela Merkel (the leader of the opposition party CDU) and Franz Müntefering (SPD) speak before the Bundestag, see Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer, and meet the Ethiopian ambassador to Germany. All this was during a tumultuous time in international politics, during the war in Iraq. When relations between the US and Germany were tense, I was right there at the heart of it all, seeing not only where and how policy decisions were being made, but more importantly, why.

On top of all this I had the chance to live in Berlin for two months, and get a very different view of Germany than one gets from the fairy-tale-like city of Munich. Berlin is a city writhing with change and still visibly trying to cope with the reunification of Germany. Through my roommate in Berlin, I met lots of people from varying backgrounds all over the city. My German improved immensely, since I spoke it exclusively in an office environment for at least eight hours a day, and I became really in tune with German national and international politics. I can't imagine a more exciting, interesting, productive or better way I could have spent my Semesterferien.

Cowabunga Dude: German for Internship
Cody Hoesly

Well I came back. Two years after leaving Germany and the program behind, I decided to spend summer 2003 in Munich. I won the Bavarian American Center Professional Internship and am working one month each at the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Bavarian State Chancellery. Of course, work isn't exactly the right word for it.

I spent my first four weeks at the Justizgebäude on Lenbachplatz, a 1950's style building under historical preservation protection; it's beautiful. My boss was the Chief Judge of the 9th Civil Chambers of the State Court for the region of downtown Munich. As assistant to him and his fellow judges, all extremely nice, I read case files and past decisions, attended judges' conferences where we discussed them, watched trials, and learned a lot about German law in areas like press, trademarks, patents, and medical malpractice. But the atmosphere was great and very relaxed – nothing was expected of me; I had my own office, I worked about 25 hours a week, and on my last day we just went out to a Biergarten.

I wasn't sure if my job at the State Chancellery would be as awesome. But it is. My boss, again super helpful, is the Director of the International Relations Office. I now work about 30 hours a week, but I still have my own office, with Internet access, this time in the Prinz Carl Palais. My job? Keep my boss updated on the Democratic Presidential hopefuls, the removal of U.S. troops from Germany, the effort in California to recall Governor Davis, etc. I also attend many fancy dinners and receptions, as well as conferences in top government buildings, castles, and resort locations. Today, the 4th of July, I was at the Amerika Haus for a 1000-person party, catered by McDonald's. The CEO of BMW was there, along with all the highest Bavarian officials, the departing U.S. Consulate General to Munich, etc.

Of course, I love this summer. I am learning a lot without being tested on it, the people are great, I have lots of free time, there's no stress or responsibility, and it seriously is a lot of fun. Yep, I'll be coming back.

Katie says "GOOOOOOOD MORNING, MUNICH!" for a Week
Katie Tobin

I'll just say it: I was an intern from Lewis & Clark College. Not once, not twice, but three times. And no one was complaining, let me tell you. The first time was short - just an afternoon; the second, most of the day; and the third experience lasted an entire week. What can I say - I love the media.

Before winter semester started, I was able to learn more about the German and Bavarian radio system via a series of mini-internships, building up to a week as a full-fledged worker at a professional, student-run radio station. My first taste of the German world of interning was in the form of a guided tour of Antenne Bayern's studios - one of the biggest radio stations in southern Germany. After that, I spent a day at the offices of the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (Bavarian Regional Office for New Media), which makes sure that the various forms of media are obeying the laws restricting commercials, adult programming, etc. Think of it - some people have to watch TV and listen to the radio for a living!

That was nothing compared to my week at AFK, a radio station run by the future pros in the business. From 9-5 for a whole week, I lived, thought, spoke, breathed, heard, wrote, and lived radio. Where is the microphone? Who's writing the news? What happened at the press conference? When are we on the air? Within my first twenty minutes on the job, I was given a cassette recorder and put out on the beat to survey students registering for classes. After that, I learned how to edit the material, and did the write-up for the station's website. (http://m945.afk.de) During the week, I also did a phone interview, attended a press conference (free catered food!), and saw the special press screening of the movie "Girlfight" (more free food - but just popcorn).

I definitely learned quite a bit this fall and would recommend it to any future participants - especially the catered press conference lunch!

Armed with luck and some Photoshop skills...
Rebecca Holz

I can certainly say that I would not have landed my Web design internship without a little luck. I combed the wanted ads in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (second largest German newspaper) for companies to approach, but ended up getting my first phone call from a company I had seen present at the Gasteig during a seminar on Internet careers. This company, which happened to be my first choice, was the only company from the list I had applied to that invited me to an interview. But, as things developed, it is not where I ended up getting the internship.

The interview went well, but my main disadvantage and the reason I was told I didn't get the position was because I was only available to work part time. The man who interviewed me wrote an email to give me the news, but at the same time suggested another company to contact. The same day I called my current boss for the first time and set up an interview. Within a few days I was hired as an intern, working 18 hours a week for a small Internet company called page-picture.com.

The company is the Web design and management branch of a much bigger publishing company called Journal International, and manages a number of beauty and wellness sites, such as Beautynet, as well as some big name apparel companies like Lowe and Kare. My goal going in was to learn how a professional web page is built and to gain access to and experience with programs like Flash, GoLive and Illustrator. Within a few weeks I was also able to take over most of the weekly layout responsibilities for ihrplatz.de and preparing images for beautynet.de. And now, as my three-month internship slowly comes to and end, I'm happy to say that they have offered me a regular position with the works, namely benefits and a work permit. Sometimes you start off applying to the wrong place, but at the right time!