The “Maxwell Mafia” and What it Can Do for You

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I’m back! After a brief winter-break hiatus, I’m back to impart some Maxwell knowledge. This month’s topic? Internships!

Most people go to graduate school for two reasons: (1) to feed their hunger for knowledge, and (2) to improve job/salary prospects. With this post, I hope to show you the real advantages of being part of the “Maxwell Mafia” in finding work opportunities.

As a Public Diplomacy (PD) student, I am “strongly encouraged” to intern abroad during the summer between the two years of my program. So while I’m not on the job-hunt yet, I am on the internship-hunt!

From Maxwell, there are two ways to intern abroad. You can either participate in one of the many Global Program options provided by SU, or you can do it on your own.

The way I understand it, the “global program option” through the school is helpful because it means Syracuse already has connections in your country of choice, and faculty/staff help you to find and secure your internship. Initially, I was looking at the Global Programs in Brussels and Geneva. The process is like this: you apply to the Global Program of your choice (standard essay questions, resume, etc.), you interview with the program directors in both locations, and successful applicants are admitted. From there, you have conversations with the in-country Syracuse faculty member so he/she gets a better idea of your interest and what kind of internship would be a good fit for you. While he/she looks around to help find available internship opportunities in your field of interest, Syracuse faculty stateside help you refine and perfect your application materials—resumes, cover letters, interview techniques, and more.

This is me pretty much every week with Laura, going over cover letter after cover letter.

Ultimately, though, I chose not to apply to the Syracuse Global Programs simply because I am more comfortable picking the exact internship I want rather than involving third parties. The downside, obviously, is I don’t get the same in-country assistance that a Global Program would provide me. HOWEVER, Maxwell is still helping me every step of the way in my quest to find the right position for me. I’ve been meeting with my new best friend Laura (really, I love her) at the Maxwell Career Development Center (called CDC around Maxwell) weekly to work on cover letters and resumes. What’s more, she’s been extremely helpful about putting me in touch with Maxwell alums abroad that work in my area of interest.

Being a PD student, I have the added benefit of also having access to the Newhouse School’s career center. Media internships in general require totally different (more artistic) kinds of application material, so they’ve been a great help, too.

Bottom line is that being here gives me direct access to resources and contacts that I would not have had otherwise. Us Maxwell students are beyond lucky, because we all have a small army of people here to help make sure we end up in our perfect positions after graduation. Plus every time I have a mini “crisis” about my future, they are nice enough to listen…and then help coach me after I finally stop ranting. 🙂

As always, feel free to reach out any time with questions! Until next month.

Opportunities Outside the Classroom

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The Edward R. Murrow program is an exchange program administered by the U.S. Department of State. The “Fellows” are international journalists selected by the U.S. Department of State for a three-week exchange here in the United States. This year’s participants hailed from Central and South East Asia—from places like Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, and more. The point is to expose these international journalists to the important role of independent media in fostering and protecting freedom of expression and democracy.

But the State Department can’t do this alone. So the department partners with leading schools of journalism and international relations to host the participants.

Fellows, administrators, and interns pose for a group picture at the farewell dinner. Photo by Jay Poudyal.
Fellows, administrators, interns, and PD students pose for a group picture at the farewell dinner. Photo by Jay Poudyal.

Enter: the Newhouse and Maxwell Schools.

Last week, Maxwell and Newhouse hosted the Edward R. Murrow Fellows here in Syracuse. As a Public Diplomacy (MAIR/MS PR) student and journalism nerd, this was a dream come true. Public Diplomacy professionals, at our core, are relationship builders. PD is a field based on two-way communication with the goal of promoting understanding and positive sentiment for the future. Hosting the Fellows in Syracuse was PD in action.

The only reason I was able to get involved with the Fellows is because of the opportunities afforded to me by the Maxwell and Newhouse schools. Maxwell houses the National Security Studies program, the Syracuse office with which the Fellows have the most interaction and where I am an intern. As an intern, I was able to assist in the execution of this program while still putting my studies first.

Journalists in ponchos--Fellows bused from Syracuse to Niagara Falls! Photo by Dhanushka Ramanayake.
Journalists in ponchos! Fellows travelled from Syracuse to Niagara Falls. Photo by Dhanushka Ramanayake.

Maxwell and Newhouse made sure that all PD students—interns or not—were involved in the visit, inviting us to dinners and workshops. We PD students were able to see first hand the direct impact our exchanges have on foreign publics and on the United States. Not only have these exchanges affected our world-views, but they have also allowed us to forge lasting relationships with foreign professionals that will undoubtedly extend into the future.

As cool and unique as this opportunity was, things like this are a common occurrence for a graduate student here at Syracuse.

“You’re Moving to Syracuse?!” Why I’m Here.

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Hello perspective students! My name is Alexcia Chambers and I am a first-year Public Diplomacy (PD) graduate candidate here at Syracuse. What does Public Diplomacy mean? Good question. That’s what I’m here to find out. Logistically, it means I will receive two degrees from Syracuse after this two-year program—one M.A. in International Relations (called MAIR in conversation) from the Maxwell School and one M.S. in Public Relations from the Newhouse School. Together, these degrees form the program called “Public Diplomacy.”

In future posts, I’ll talk more about what the day-to-day looks like as a PD student… but for now I’d like to share with you why I’m here.

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