Spring 2013 Internship Program*

   The Women’s Center is looking for students with a curious mind, a strong work ethic, an interest in learning about the richness of women’s experiences, and a desire to understand why gender matters affect everyone.

   About the Women’s Center:

·         The Women’s Center IS NOT a student organization. It is a resource center dedicated to gender education and equality at Dickinson and beyond.

·         The Women’s Center highlights the issues affecting the lives of ALL WOMEN across class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other types of social difference.  

Open to all majors, class years, and genders!

No prior experience in gender issues or campus diversity is required.

A Lakota-Sioux tipi by Carolyn Rittenhouse was on display in the Waidner-Spahr Library atrium, as part of the Indigenous Histories Symposium at Dickinson College, November 2012.  The Women’s Center co-sponsored a workshop and a talk about the experiences of indigenous women today.

  Qualifications:

Independent, self-motivated, courteous, reliable, and open to feedback

Interns are encouraged to contribute their ideas, backgrounds, and interests to enrich our work.  They should demonstrate a commitment to the Women’s Center mission, and a willingness to work and learn from others as part of a team.

Time Requirements:  

·         Commitment to working a minimum of 8-10 hours a week (for a total of 80 hours over the course of the semester)

·         Available to attend weekly meetings on Thursdays from 11:45am to 1:15pm

·         Attendance and participation at most Women’s Center events (some evening hours required)

Responsibilities include:

·         Maintaining and promoting the Women’s Center Library (Write annotations, arrange displays, and make recommendations on the books, films, posters, magazines, brochures, etc.)

·         Conducting research on topics related to programs, events, and workshops

·         Contributing to the Women’s Center online presence via social media outlets

·         Educating themselves and the campus community about the work of the center

·         Attending and participating actively in regular staff meetings, individual supervisory meetings and office hours, and occasional retreat/leadership development opportunities

·         Attending workshops, programs, and events sponsored by the Women’s Center

·         Assisting with general administrative tasks including front desk support in Landis House

·         Keeping up with Career Center deadlines and assignments for the Transcript Notation Program*

 Interns gain practical work experience for life after graduation by:

·         Applying academic knowledge and life experiences to meet professional expectations

·         Building great work habits and effective communication skills

·         Learning the value of working with other organizations

·         Gaining familiarity with leadership and advocacy work in higher education, NGOs, and grassroots organizations 

Application Instructions:

Please submit a completed form, resume, and two references (names and contact information only) at women@dickinson.edu.                           

Deadline:   Sunday, January 27^th, 2012 (11:59pm)

*Transcript notation is required for this internship.  Visit the Career Center website for details.    

BECOME A CATALYST IN ENDING A CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AND CREATING A CYCLE OF LEADERSHIP

L.E.A.D. is a ten-week youth mentorship and leadership program for students from 5th, 8th, and 11th grade being run in partnership with the YWCA and Dickinson student Oanh-Nhi Nguyen. The mentors will be select students from Dickinson College.

The mission of L.E.A.D. is to create a safe space where students can learn about social justice and diversity issues, to empower bystander intervention and to encourage students to act with self respect and respect for others, and to define their passion in today’s culture. The curriculum will be based on pre-existing prevention and education models that include race, gender, culture, sexual violence, media, and cyber-bullying.

Applications are due to Oanh-Nhi Nguyen by 5pm on Friday, November 16th, 2012.

Women Center’s Internship Positions

The Dickinson College Women’s Center is a resource that builds gender education and equality into the life of the institution through space and community, resources and skills, and events and opportunities.  The Women’s Center offers internships to provide leadership and professional development, project management and teamwork skills, and gender-based education for Dickinson students.  Interns will be directly supervised by the Women’s Center Director and attend weekly staff meetings as well as supervisory meetings to develop and accomplish specific project and professional development goals.  

Responsibilities include:

·         Providing front desk support in a cooperative office environment with the Office of Diversity Initiatives, the Office of LGBTQ Services, and the Gender Violence Resource Network.

·         Performing administrative tasks and providing assistance for workshops, programs, and events sponsored by the Women’s Center and partners.

·         Conducting research on topics related to programs, events, and workshops.

·         Maintaining the Women’s Center Facebook page and Tumblr; assisting with public relations, marketing, and program evaluations.

·         Maintaining the Women’s Center’s resource room and Unicorn Bookshelf library; assisting with general administrative tasks.

·         Educating yourself and the campus community about Women’s Center services, resources, and programs through open lines of communication with campus partners, including faculty, staff and administrators, student residential staff, student organizations, and informal student constituencies.

·         Attending and participating actively in regular Women’s Center staff meetings, individual supervisory meetings and office hours, and occasional retreat/leadership development opportunities.

Qualifications:

·         No prior experience in gender issues or campus diversity is required. 

·         Commitment to working a minimum of 8-10 hours a week.

·         Computer experience .

·         Good organizational skills.

·         Enjoys a fast-paced environment.

·         A self‐starter with a strong desire to learn.

·         Be available for evenings for special events.

·         Willing to work as part of a team.

Benefits:

Transcript notation is required for this internship.  An internship is an excellent way to determine the best career option to pursue. Interns not only gain practical work experience but also build great work habits, fundamental skills, and communication skills.  An internship helps individuals to combine theory with practical work experience by allowing students to work under the supervision of practicing professionals. This internship will help develop professional work habits and provide an understanding of non-profit and higher education cultures. This internship will provide a bridge between school and the professional world, allowing you to learn about work in leadership, higher education, and advocacy; to connect with campus and community organizations; and to develop your programming, networking, and marketing skills.

Application Instructions:

Please submit your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest and skills to women@dickinson.edu.                           

Deadline:   Friday, August 31, 2012

Please join us in welcoming our new Interim Director, G. Melissa García! 

Take a look at the interview below, from June's WGST Newsletter, to learn more about Melissa.

Goodbye from Susannah.

We will miss you.

Dickinson College program tackles fat stigma in a weeklong Love Your Body event

Published: Saturday, March 24, 2012

By ELIZABETH GIBSON, The Patriot-News

They seemed to spill from the pages of summer fashion ads this week. Impossibly toned bodies. Women in denim, short-shorts and clingy blouses, men in cargo shorts and tight tees.

The week’s premature warmth didn’t send them scurrying to fitness centers and tanning salons. Their bodies already seem perfect.

View full sizeCHRISTINE BAKER,The Patriot-NewsLaeli Sharifi was among Dickinson College students taking part in a group discussion with professor Amy Farrell, au­thor of "Fat Shame," on Saturday. Sharifi talked about bat­tling an eating disorder. 

However, for others, the switch from long pants to bare legs can feel like torture.

People start dropping the f-word. As in, “I’m so fat.”

Laeli Sharifi won’t be pulled in.

The Dickinson College senior said she knows it’s distorted thinking. We all aren’t meant to weigh 120 pounds and wear single-digit clothing sizes. But the pressure to be thin and toned is everywhere.

It was powerful enough to send Sharifi, who has an eating disorder, to a hospital psychiatric ward. She left school in the midst of her freshman year in a vocal performance program at a midwestern university.

After her recuperation, the Washington, D.C.-area resident transferred to Dickinson. A friend from high school, Ashley Williams, was there. So were some of the nation’s experts on body perception.

People such as Women’s Studies professor Amy Farrell, author of “Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture” and a recent guest on CNN and the “The Colbert Report.” And psychology professor Suman Ambwani, an eating disorders and obesity researcher.

This week, the professors’ work prompted three college departments and two student organizations at Dickinson to tackle fat stigma in a weeklong Love Your Body event.  

Ambwani organized a dinner and brought in Dickinson alumna Alyssa Compeau, who conducts outreach for Eating Disorder Network of Maryland.

There was a discussion on men, masculinity and body image as well as a mindful-eating workshop with a dietitian Dickinson added to its staff in January.

Students signed a pledge to end Fat Talk, or conversations in which they belittle themselves over their size or body shape.

On Friday, Sharifi and Williams joined other women for lunch. Women’s Center Director Susannah Bartlow talked on being healthy at every size.

And they actually ate. Sandwiches and potato chips and pickles.

Bartlow said ads bombard people, especially women, with conflicting messages about eating.

A popular ad for yogurt, for instance, touts its yummy flavors but low-calorie values. Realistically, key lime yogurt tastes nothing like key lime pie, Bartlow said.

The takeaway for many is that they need the yogurt company to help them control a sweet tooth.

“What possible catastrophe can occur if I have that piece of key lime pie,” Bartlow asked students.

“They’re intertwining it with sin. You’re doing something you’re normally not supposed to do. You’re giving yourself a treat,” Dickinson senior Jesse Battilana said.

Williams said she was lucky. Her family is comprised of big and tall people comfortable with their size. She was never pressured to diet or feel ashamed about her appearance.

Sharifi said three members of her family have undergone surgery to change the shape of their stomachs to lose weight.

It was hard for them to not applaud her weight loss, even when they knew it was unhealthy.

When she got to Dickinson, Sharifi compared herself unfavorably to slender women.

Her outlook improved through talking openly about her eating disorder. Other women have opened up to her about their own suffering.

Sharifi said it has helped her think more about talents she has that could help others in a career and less about how her legs will look in shorts this year.

“It’s taken three years, and finally, two months before I graduate, I’m like, I don’t care,” she said.

story can be found at:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/03/dickinson_college_program_tack.html