2008 Woodie Awards
Financial strain for co-op abroad
Anne Baker
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: News
As Northeastern continues to emphasize the value of international experiences, many students are speaking out against the financial strain of co-op abroad.
"With a lot of the international co-ops, if it's an unpaid co-op, you have to pay to get yourself there and you have to have to pay to live and you're not getting paid," said Student Government Association (SGA) vice president for academic affairs Stephen Lavenberg.
Co-op has long been a mainstay of Northeastern's culture, but only recently has the idea of international co-op gained attention. This is due in part to a world that is becoming smaller and demands people who are capable of thriving in a society with more open boundaries, said Jack Greene, vice provost for experiential learning.
"We have a smaller world, a world that's stepping in each month and each day, and we need individuals who are stepping out in the opposite direction," he said. "So many universities are engaged in trying to build out experiences for students."
International co-op is a good way to unite the typical Northeastern experience with an international one, President Joseph Aoun said in a recent interview with The News.
"International co-op is the best approach for our students to take advantage of something that we do in a unique way," he said. "That's a differentiator, and that, given the international dimensions so that they [students] are as much at ease in Boston or New York or Johannesburg or wherever, because frankly, we don't know where we are going to end up."
However, many students say international co-op, unlike its domestic counterpart, is hard for students to sustain financially on their own.
"I think if Northeastern wants to advertise its co-op program internationally, they should give the financial support to those students who can't afford it," said Emily Turner, a middler international affairs and political science major and president of the International Affairs Society.
"With a lot of the international co-ops, if it's an unpaid co-op, you have to pay to get yourself there and you have to have to pay to live and you're not getting paid," said Student Government Association (SGA) vice president for academic affairs Stephen Lavenberg.
Co-op has long been a mainstay of Northeastern's culture, but only recently has the idea of international co-op gained attention. This is due in part to a world that is becoming smaller and demands people who are capable of thriving in a society with more open boundaries, said Jack Greene, vice provost for experiential learning.
"We have a smaller world, a world that's stepping in each month and each day, and we need individuals who are stepping out in the opposite direction," he said. "So many universities are engaged in trying to build out experiences for students."
International co-op is a good way to unite the typical Northeastern experience with an international one, President Joseph Aoun said in a recent interview with The News.
"International co-op is the best approach for our students to take advantage of something that we do in a unique way," he said. "That's a differentiator, and that, given the international dimensions so that they [students] are as much at ease in Boston or New York or Johannesburg or wherever, because frankly, we don't know where we are going to end up."
However, many students say international co-op, unlike its domestic counterpart, is hard for students to sustain financially on their own.
"I think if Northeastern wants to advertise its co-op program internationally, they should give the financial support to those students who can't afford it," said Emily Turner, a middler international affairs and political science major and president of the International Affairs Society.
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