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February 06, 2011
Expecting Volunteering at the Library of Congress during Alternative Spring Break (ASB)
Have you ever heard of SI’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB)? If not, take a look at its brief introduction at its website.
In short, during the spring break, SI students have the chance to volunteer in non-profit organizations in New York, DC, Chicago, or Detroit, usually doing works relating to their professional interest. I first heard of this opportunity when I visited UM last spring, and it sounded like too good of a deal to be true. Why? There are at least a couple good reasons for me.
As I’ve just started looking for internships in summer, I realize how important it is to have some practical experience in my field of interest before applying for a summer-long internship, not to mention such experience can be actually tagged with big names such as the Library of Congress and the American Library Association. Although there are limits due to the time length, from the project descriptions I could already imagine what a refreshing and productive experience it will be. A lot could have done within a fully-working week, and we might never have had such experience without ASB.
For many people, it would also be a great opportunity to visit big cities and get a taste of living and working there for a week. I have been really excited about Chicago since I’ve never been there; however, I finally chose DC over Chicago since the projects in DC looks more attractive to me. Did I mention that the school will cover both transportation and lodging? Otherwise it will be a big chunk of money for us students. We only need to pay for meals and a one-time $25 application fee.
Lastly, over the past semester since I came to SI, I have increasingly realized the importance of other SI students. They are such a dynamic group from all sorts of backgrounds (in terms of specialties and culture) that I feel I would never learn enough of them. Also they are becoming exactly the same group of people I social with after school – since I don’t have families and friends otherwise in Ann Arbor. What would be better for interaction other than driving a whole day together to the destination and living in the same hostel? No matter who I would travel or live together with, I believe it will turn out to be a great experience and I couldn’t wait to do so.
Well… I realize I actually have not started to talk about what I will do yet. This time I will work with the Library of Congress, assisting with various tasks related to the redesign of digitalpreservation.gov, the web site for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). I will, of course, talk more about this project after I return from it!
Posted by shichen at February 6, 2011 04:46 PM