Post graduation, during winter break, or in the summers between terms, Canadian students scatter themselves across the Earth. But these aren’t students seeking the latest vacation opportunities. Rather, these are career minded job seekers travelling outwards to work at an internship abroad. They seek the benefits such work will bring them, the unique experiences available nowhere else, the new skills and unexpected lessons, and the stand out entry on their resume.

Survivor Student, Season One

Naomi (name altered on request) is one of those seekers, a former medical student at McMaster University, who traveled to rural northern India with a group of physicians. As part of the work done by the Himalayan Health Exchange, she traveled between villages and refugee camps, providing medical care to people in remote regions. During that time, she slept in a sleeping bag on the bare earth, drank water that had to be boiled, and “really missed having a bathroom”, as she put it delicately. But she wouldn’t have had it any other way. “I enjoy the idea of providing volunteer medical care for people at risk, anywhere.” For her, the work illuminated the path before her as a physician.

“There was a 17-year-old boy suffering the effects of meningitis and tuberculosis. He required more care than our medical team could provide, he was sent to the closest medical center seven hours away. The other doctors later said that cases such as his had deterred them from pediatrics. I realized then that cases such as his, doing whatever I can for people like him, are the very reason I am compelled to do pediatrics,” says Naomi.

A Global Resume and The Big Draw
 

There are reasons besides spiritual and professional revelation to seek work experiences like these. Tasleem Hudani, the Get Experience Co-ordinator at the University of Toronto career centre notes some very practical benefits. “Any kind of international experience is very attractive on a resume. It stands out in showing an employer the flexibility to adapt to new environments,” says Hudani. She adds that for anyone looking for regular employment far afield, internships like these show an employer a student already has experience living abroad.

Hudani explains that the other big draw of these internships is, contrary to expectations, their ease on a student’s schedule compared to opportunities at home. “Because they’re often short term, you can take part in one over the summer, or use it as a co-op during the year.” Hudani praises how often out-of-country internships “fit in nicely” with a student’s time demands. “They’re often targeted to students over working professionals, and made more accessible,” says Hudani.

Elements of Preparation

The biggest hurdles for students wanting to reap the benefits of an internship in the wider world are finding one in the first place, the preparation to get there, and being ready for the problems that might arise on their trip. Naomi found her internship through the McMaster student elective database. “I was told about it during some voluntary career sessions I attended. They were advertised over the student forums, where the electives were discussed,” says Naomi. She spent a fair bit of time searching the database for options that interested her, and backed that up by getting commentary from fellow students on them through her school forums.

“It was a lot of paperwork,” says Naomi, of an experience that moved her between local travel health clinics, wilderness outfitting stores, and contact with the Indian consulate to get her visa. “Finances were the biggest barrier,” says Naomi, who paid the three thousand dollars in total expenses out of her bursary money.

Funding these trips can be an issue, but “it’s not a bleak situation for creative students.” OSAP money can cover summer educational experiences while a student is still enrolled, and many universities have travel funds that provide support. Hudani stresses that kind of contact with a student’s college or university as a key element of preparation. Career center counsellors and coordinators are there to help.
It’s worth taking that care for students like Naomi. “It was a fantastic way to connect with the world around me, to put myself outside my comfort zone and grow as a person.”