Students attended the discussion, held at the Iadarola Center lecture hall on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. to learn about potential internships, academic seminars and intern abroad programs the Washington Center offers.
“Students have been attending The Washington Center since 1985 and I’ve built a relationship with them within the last 10 years,” Dr. James Hedtke, professor and chair of the history and political science department and liaison between The Washington Center and Cabrini College, said.
Hedtke has grown very fond of The Washington Center ever since his daughter acquired a internship there. “She had a great experience and since then, I decided to formalize this relationship,” Dr. Hedtke said.
Patricia Guidetti, marketing manager of Academic Seminars at The Washington Center, has been working there for a year and this is the second time she has been at Cabrini College. She was the individual who led The Washington Center discussion at Cabrini College. One of Guidetti’s responsibilities as a marketing manager is to put internship and academic seminars together and travel to various colleges around the nation. During the discussion, Guidetti said, “1,600 students attend The Washington Center a year and 56 percent of college graduates from the class of 2010 held at least one job after their experience at The Washington Center.”
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is a leading nonprofit educational institution headquarted in Washington D.C. It provides undergraduates, graduate students and professionals, from the U.S. and abroad, academic seminars on special topics and internship-centered academic terms. Offered primarily in Washington, D.C. and selected cities abroad, the internship programs consists of a work experience tailored to the students interests, academic coursework and civic and leadership programming.
The Washington Center enables students to gain experience needed for entry-level employment and to prepare for lives of achievement, engagement and leadership. “I love it because The Washington Center is a very great opportunity and the premise is to make a difference and help students experience things first-hand and not just read about it in textbooks,” Guidetti said.
When asked about how she began to work at The Washington Center, Guidetti said, “I read the job description about the pillars of The Washington Center which I strongly believed in as well and took the opportunity to be involved.”
“I am very interested in politics,” Morgan Hudson, junior business administration major, said. “I love everything about Washington D.C. and I’m going to do everything to get my foot in the door.”
The Washington Center is all about getting the chance to experience the real world from the inside and in doing so, students have the opportunity to change their lives tremendously. Students will develop marketable skills and will be connected to people and institutions that can open up doors to a fulfilling and meaningful career.
At the conclusion of the discussion, Guidetti answered students’ questions pertaining to The Washington Center and said, “The Washington Center is very inspiring and you will be able to see Washington D.C. from a different perspective that will allow you to appreciate it more than you normally would.”
