Hands-On Learning Built In
Learn more about the Compass Curriculum
At Wheaton, you learn by doing. With our Compass Curriculum, you will explore your interests and ideas through action—in the classroom, the lab, the studio and beyond the campus, amplifying the power of your studies.
Experiential learning is more than an addition to the curriculum, it is a fully integrated core principle of our program. With features like the Sophomore Experience and LEAPS (Liberal Education and Professional Success) pathways—collections of courses and experiences designed to build industry-specific career skills—you will put your learning into action in your courses, developing the skills for professional success. You will find the support to maximize your education at Wheaton and beyond campus at our Life and Career Design Institute. Our Career Navigators will help you choose programs, campus clubs and activities, and experiential learning opportunities that align with your personal values and goals.
Internship Guarantee
Wheaton guarantees access to internship funding, ensuring that you will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills in a realworld setting.
The Life and Career Design Institute provides expert advice to help you plan, land and prepare for internship experiences that connect with your academic interests and your post-graduation goals. On the following pages, you will read about some of the learning adventures of students who used one of Wheaton’s internship stipends. Their experiences shed new light on their academic interests, helped to shape their plans for the future, gave them access to a network of friends and professionals, and provided opportunities to test out their skills beyond the classroom.
Health and Health Sciences
Possible areas of study: animal behavior · bioinformatics · neuroscience · nursing · pre-medicine · psychology · public health
Patient care
Phoebe Nerone gained on-the-job experience with patients as a summer intern at South County Hospital, a nonprofit acute care hospital serving southern Rhode Island. In her role, Nerone wore many hats, including escorting patients, transporting records to different departments in the hospital and assisting the public at the reception desk.
“…I was able to assist patients and become more comfortable with assisting those who cannot help themselves.”
–Phoebe Nerone
“Being able to work in a hands-on environment in the hospital helped me to get a true idea of what working in health care entails,” said Nerone, who is majoring in anthropology and public health. “I loved when I was able to assist patients and become more comfortable with assisting those who cannot help themselves.”
She said the experience at South County Hospital helped her more deeply connect to her public health major.
“The internship showed me some of the options that I would have in the public health field once I graduate from Wheaton,” Nerone said.
Emergency services
An aspiring doctor, William Gan interned at Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps, serving a neighborhood in Glen Oaks, a New York City borough of Queens.
“I’ve been an active member of the corps since my freshman year of high school. However, being such a young age in high school, I was restricted in the work and tasks I was able to perform involving patient care. As I continued my skills training this winter as a college intern, I have come to love and value patient care much more,” said Gan, a biology and public health double major.
In his role, Gan responded to 911 emergencies dispatched by the New York City Fire Department, provided basic life support for patients during emergency transports, performed complete medical and psychological assessments on patients, treated and stabilized patients using clinical knowledge and skills, and assisted the EMT or paramedic in their duties.
“Any moment where the patient is in stable condition is a ‘good’ moment. Aside from bonding with your crew members and enjoying lunch or dinner at the base when we’re not in the ambulance, it is the greatest feeling in the world when you are able to relieve the patient or better their condition,” he said.
“[I]t is the greatest feeling in the world when you are able to relieve the patient or better their condition.” –William Gan
More recent internships in health and health sciences
• Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Center for Community Health and Health Equity
• Flaum Eye Institute
• Marathon Physical Therapy
• Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
• Mental Health and Addiction Advocacy Coalition
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Sciences
Possible
areas of study: astronomy · biochemistry · biology · chemistry · computer science · engineering · environmental science/studies · mathematics · physics · statistics
Lab work
Biochemistry major Robert Black interned over the summer in the polymer chemistry research lab at Enable Life Sciences LLC in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Black worked to prepare, coat and analyze polymers used in medical stents, which help provide structure to damaged arteries in humans. He is interested in attending medical school after Wheaton.
“This internship provided me with valuable exposure to chemical research in a professional setting, and in a laboratory that deals with biomedical devices,” he said.
“Polymer chemistry is a topic that I had not been exposed to before, so most of the chemistry was new to me and I was learning it for the first time. Along with that, I learned new synthesis techniques, while also further developing already learned analytical techniques,” he said.
“This internship provided me with valuable exposure to chemical research in a professional setting.”
–Robert Black
Marine science
Ayinde Best spent 10 weeks as a summer intern for the Partnership Education Program in Woods Hole, Mass, which connects students with one of six Woods Hole scientific institutions to gain practical experience in marine and environmental science.
Best, an environmental science major with a concentration in biology, collaborated on an underwater imaging project with the help of a mentor from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
The project engaged him in reviewing images of the seafloor, annotating target species—including hermit crabs and sea stars—and then using coding to plot the data for a final presentation. He also took the class “Global Climate Change: The Ocean and Environmental Sciences.”
“Thanks to my internship, I not only got to work with scientists, but I also got to work with scientists who are people of color. It was so inspiring to see people who looked like me in leadership roles in the STEM field, and it gave me hope that I can actually make this dream of mine work,” Best said.
“It was so inspiring to see people who looked like me in leadership roles in the STEM field…” –Ayinde Best
More recent internships in the sciences
• Brooklyn Zoo
• Fujitsu Advanced Technology Ltd.
• Massachusetts Audubon Society
• Mystic Aquarium
• NASA
• University of Porto, Laboratory of Neuropsychophysiology
• Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Business and Management
Possible areas of study: business and management · computer science · data science · economics · finance and business analysis · human resource management · international business · legal studies · marketing · math and economics · non-profit management · social entrepreneurship
Launching a grocery store cooperative
Economics and political science double major Lindsay Kreill spent part of her winter break helping to develop an urban grocery store cooperative, Gem City Market, in Dayton, Ohio. It’s a project she began working on at a previous internship and which she passionately supports.
“I interned with Hall Hunger Initiative in Dayton after my sophomore year, using my Wheaton stipend, and then worked with Co-op Dayton the following year. Both nonprofits have helped incubate and raise money for the market, which is a worker- and community-owned grocery store cooperative with more than 2,400 members,” Kreill said.
That winter, she helped prepare for the launch of the market’s new logo and brand, redesigning promotional materials and adding information to the website. The work has helped Kreill improve her graphic design and social media marketing skills and added to her portfolio.
“The Gem City Market is a project I’ve been incredibly passionate about for several years. It’s an amazing example of the power of grassroots efforts to tackle issues of poverty and food injustice,” she said. “Continuing my work with them in a new role is an amazing opportunity. I love being a part of something much bigger than myself and working with people who are equally passionate about ending hunger.”
Google internship
A summer internship with Google gave anthropology and business and management double major Andru Anderson skills and experience in thinking about how to connect with diverse audiences. It also helped him land a job with the company upon graduation.
“My project for the summer was creating a strategy that addresses the expansion of the pipeline for top talent recruitment from underrepresented backgrounds,” said Anderson, who participated in Google’s Building Opportunities for Leadership and Development program at the company headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Anderson said the internship gave him valuable insight into his abilities.
“Attending a private liberal arts institution like Wheaton College reinforces the importance of versatility and being able to carve out my own path. That’s very similar to the approach that Google takes with its employees.”
“Attending a private liberal arts institution like Wheaton College reinforces the importance of versatility and being able to carve out my own path.” –Andru Anderson
More recent internships in business and management
• The American Red Cross
• Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co. Ltd.
• Ernst and Young
• Freehold Real Estate LLC
• Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship Network
• Prestige Style Fashion
• Sustainable Bolivial
Creative Industries
Possible areas of study: creative arts management · creative writing · dance · design · English · film and new media studies · journalism studies · music · theatre design/tech · visual art
Podcast host
James Sena, who plans to work in the entertainment industry, found an ideal hands-on summer internship as a podcast host. For 16 weeks, he participated in a virtual internship at GSMC Podcast Network , a Folsom, California-based broadcast media company.
Twice per week, Sena wrote and hosted a one-hour podcast offering insight and light-hearted commentary about all things cinema.
“For every show, I researched different movies and outlined my main talking points in advance. This allowed me to not only stay organized but helped me keep track of when I should take breaks,” said Sena, a double major in film and new media studies and theatre studies
Sena, who is focusing on acting as a theatre studies major, said he tried out various tones and narrative choices to see which felt most natural and what people might enjoy the most. The internship complemented Wheaton courses, he said, including a podcast production course.
“That course actually gave me the inspiration to seek opportunities in that medium. When it came time to start recording for the GSMC Podcast Network, I would go back and review some of the critiques that I was given during class in order to create content that I’m genuinely proud of,” Sena said.
Camera skills
Oriana Camara had a busy summer of experiential learning—first, following Wheaton students on a biology course in Ecuador as a Filmmaker in Residence, and then interning with Dangerous Productions in Easton, Mass., where she worked on post-production.
Camara, a double major in film and new media studies and Hispanic studies, said she enjoyed working alongside professionals in video production.
“Dangerous Productions also provided me the opportunity to try out different cameras and equipment that I had never set my hands on before this summer,” she said.
Camara dreams of one day working as a documentarian for National Geographic.
“This internship has provided me an insight and foundation in the film industry that has helped me understand the importance of connections, hard work and commitment,” she said.
“This internship has provided me an insight and foundation in the film industry…” –Oriana Camara
More recent internships in creative industries
• Albany Symphony
• Cape Cod Repertory Theatre
• Channel 7 News / WHDH / CW56
• Circus Smirkus
• Edition Magazine
• Great Indian Noise Pictures
• Hawke Commercial Filmmaking
• HelioGraphics
• Steer Digital Media
Social Sciences
Possible areas of study: African, African American diaspora studies · American studies · anthropology · criminal justice · development studies · economic theory · education · ethnomusicology · international relations · political science · psychology · public health · sociology · urban studies · women’s and gender studies
Social innovation
Zoe Selman, a political science major, spent the fall semester in Boston as a city resilience fellow for Leading Cities, a nonprofit that connects startups with government agencies.
She took part in Semester in the City, a 15-week immersive program in Boston offered through Wheaton’s partnership with the College for Social Innovation. Selman was among a cohort of students getting a taste of real-world experience at cutting-edge nonprofits in the social sector. She also engaged in academic courses, including “Social Innovator’s Toolbox” and “Becoming a Problem Solver.”
A highlight of her fellowship was serving as a panelist at a major national conference alongside “PBS NewsHour” broadcast journalist Hari Sreenivasan. She also co-authored a paper with the Leading Cities Executive Director Michael Lake.
“I’ve learned about the entire world of nonprofit organizations as well as city resiliency and community outreach. I’m appreciative of every opportunity given to me. I’m lucky to be developing my professional career and making connections,” she said.
Helping new moms
Allie Roth provided support to new mothers during her internship at The Motherhood Center of New York . The organization offers a partial hospitalization program that helps women cope with distressing feelings that occur during pregnancy and the first year after birth.
Roth, a women’s and gender studies major, chose this internship because of her
interest in working in the field of women’s health. Her duties included attending the virtual group therapy program, reminding patients of individual appointments and communicating last-minute schedule changes between clinicians and patients. “Dealing with perinatal and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders is extremely difficult. However, The Motherhood Center not only creates a safe environment for mothers to support one another, but also gives them tools on how to deal with these issues. Seeing mothers relate to one another and serve as a support system is really beautiful to watch,” she said.
Roth said she learned a lot about the intensity of the challenges. “This internship has given me firsthand experience into what working in this field would actually look like.”
More recent internships in the social sciences
• Community Harvest Project
• D.C. Rape Crisis Center
• Essex Children’s Advocacy Center
• Hopkinton High School
• Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
• Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund
• Sayegh & Sayegh Law
• South Shore Autism Center
• University of Oxford Language and Brain Laboratory
• Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports
• Vote Smart
• World Relief
Humanities
Possible
areas of study: anthropology · art history · Classics · Digital humanities · French studies · German studies · Greek · Hispanic studies · history · Italian studies · Jewish studies · Latin · Medieval and Renaissance studies · philosophy · religion · Russian studies · theology
Advancing the plot
Over the summer, Emily Zielinksi discovered that she is on the right track to a career in book publishing.
The creative writing major, who serves as a Wheaton peer writing tutor, landed an internship at Abrams Books, a New York City publishing house. She spent the summer as the firm’s editorial intern, reading manuscripts and proposals to evaluate storytelling and style.
“My projects involved working with my supervisors on books that will be published. It was so cool to see all the effort and steps that go into getting a story ready for people to buy and read,” Zielinski said, noting that it can be a two-year process from proposal to bookstore shelves.
Unexpectedly, she found herself gravitating to memoirs and biographies, as opposed to the novels she enjoys in her spare time.
“It’s a cool type of editing to say, ‘I understand your idea and what you want to say about your experience, and perhaps it will be more impactful if you approach the story this way.’ You’re enhancing someone’s life story, which is very rewarding.”
Museum education
Ryan Ouellette developed a passion for military history when learning about the experiences of his grandfather, who fought in World War II.
The history major deepened his knowledge of U.S. conflicts—including the Revolutionary War, the World Wars and beyond—during a summer internship at the American Heritage Museum, which is based in Stow, Mass. In his role, he educated visitors about the various military vehicles and artifacts in the museum, while ensuring the safety of guests and the collection.
“A standout moment for me was the book signing we had for Andrew Biggio’s The
Rifle. The author had traveled around the country documenting the stories of the few remaining World War II veterans, and for the book signing we had 50 World War II veterans in attendance. It was a truly incredible experience to meet all these men, whose service ranged from paratroopers in Normandy, to marines on Iwo Jima, to Tuskegee Airmen, and more,” Ouellette said.
Ouellette said he is considering a career working in museums.
“Working at the museum has been absolutely eye-opening in terms of what I thought a career in history could look like. This summer was one of the single greatest times in my life, and I would absolutely love to work at a museum, maybe even this one,” he said.
“Working at the museum has been absolutely eye-opening in terms of what I thought a career in history could look like.” –Ryan Ouellette
More recent internships in the humanities
• ATC Studios
• Cape Cod National Seashore
• Destiny Rescue
• Hartford Youth Scholars
• Kenyan Scholar-Athlete Project
• Law Offices of Jason Giannetti Esq.
• School on Wheels of Massachusetts
• Villa Del Vergigno Archaeological Site and Field School
Academic programs
Undergraduate programs
African, African American, Diaspora Studies
Animal Behavior
Anthropology
Art History
Art (Visual)
Astronomy
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics
Biology
Business and Management (B.S.)
Chemistry (B.S.)
Classics
Communications
Computer Science
Creative Arts Management
Creative Writing and Literature
Criminal Justice
Dance
Design
Early Childhood Education
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
Economics
Education
Elementary Education
Engineering
English
Environmental Science
Film and New Media Studies
Finance (B.S.)
French Studies
Global Literary Studies
German Studies
Greek
Healthcare Management
Hispanic Studies
History
Human Resource Management
International Business
International Relations
Italian Studies
Journalism Studies
Latin Legal Studies
Liberal Arts
Marketing (B.S.)
Mathematics
Mathematics and Computer Science
Music
Neuroscience
Nursing (B.S.N.)
Optometry
Philosophy
Physics (B.A. and B.S.)
Political Science
Pre-Dentistry
Pre-Law
Pre-Medicine
Pre-Occupational Therapy
Pre-Physical Therapy
Pre-Physician Assistant
Pre-Veterinary
Psychology
Public Health
Public Administration
Queer and Trans Studies
Religion
Russian Studies
Secondary Education
Statistics
Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management
Sociology
Teaching Multilingual Learners
Theatre
Transnational Cultural Studies
Women’s and Gender Studies
4+1 Master’s Programs
Earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree on an accelerated five-year schedule.
Business (M.S.), options for specialization in arts management or sustainable business
Creative Industries (M.A.), business and management, digital media and the arts
Environmental Science (M.S.), environmental research, planning, and policy
