The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 43 to nd something that interests them. I “e-interned” for the O ce to Combat and Monitor Tra cking in Persons. I am the founder of the Human Rights Club on my campus, and am passionate about combating human tra cking, so this was a dream internship for me. I poured my heart into it, and invested more than 20 hours a week doing media research and translating from Farsi and French on a variety of human tra cking topics: individuals tra cked for the sake of suicide bombing, forced begging and Quranic schools, forced labor and tra cking in the hospitality industry. Some say that a virtual internship does not provide stu- dents with real professional development and networking. However, that is far from the truth. I had to learn to communi- cate with formal language via phone, email and Skype with my VSFS supervisors. I was expected to promptly return emails and had to be on time for all phone and Skype sessions, for which I dressed professionally. My intern supervisors acted as mentors, o ering me profes- sional development, academic advice and valuable letters of recommendation. ey even made the e ort to introduce me virtually to other professionals in my eld to expand my net- work. Maybe I was not sitting at an o ce desk from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but I gained valuable professional experience working directly in my eld. Overall, the internship surpassed my expectations, and the virtual component enabled me to apply myself to meet high standards. Like any internship, you get as much out of it as you put into it. U.S. News & World Report states that “internships are a near necessity in the quest to nd a job in today’s market.” e virtual internship is a unique avenue for students to e ectively gain experience in their eld. Now it’s time for more students to capitalize on globalization and technology. Financial and geographic obstacles are no longer an excuse. As the saying goes, “Where's there's a will, there's a way.” Take advantage. n