The Middle East Studies Center offers students opportunities to be a part of our team and carry out critical projects that help us achieve our goals. We value intercultural awareness, independent critical thinking and problem solving, learning new skills, teaching skills to others, collaboration, and teamwork. As a member of our team, your primary duties will focus on support for event planning, reporting, and execution, but you may also be assigned other tasks including:
- Research and support for the creation of instructional materials
- Data compilation and analysis
- Culling current headlines and seeking interviews with OSU faculty for comment
- Communicating with potential speakers and sponsors for events
- Web content updates and creating newsletters/flyers
Interns are required to work between 3 and 10 hours per week and attend the weekly team meeting. We expect members of the team to demonstrate leadership by modeling excellent teamwork, problem-solving skills, and a commitment to community-building.
To complete the program successfully you must pass the torch to the next leader by leaving behind tools, resources and instructions for continuing the work at the same level of achievement or higher. Participation in the university community and greater community is another expectation of the program. Members of our team can choose from the Middle East Studies Forum, Student organizations, or the OIA Student Leaders program.
The Lead Intern will work with the Assistant Director to lead projects teach other members of the team and take on a higher level of responsibility for events. This position is paid and provides individuals with the ability to take on more responsibility and a leadership role within the MESC. The Lead Intern will also be responsible for aspects of guest itineraries and may oversee publicity, reporting and evaluation for certain events.
As students progress in their roles on the team, we may nominate them for a role on our advisory board. Students will take a lead role in coordinating the award ceremony to recognize their achievements at the end of the year. The roles are defined according to tiers:
- Tier one role: The tier one role is an entry-level role as a member of the engagement team. In this role we are assessing your accountability, communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively while also completing independent work. Someone in this role can be a volunteer (on a limited basis), a work study paid assistant, or an academic intern who earns credit for their work through the Undergraduate International Studies Program.
- Tier two role: The tier two role is the Lead Intern (a paid position). The lead intern fulfills all the expectations of the other engagement team members but also: teaches other team members media skills, checks on progress of tasks, reminds other team members of duties. They may take on a higher level of responsibility for their independent projects.
- Tier three role: The tier three role is a team meber who also serves as a MESC advisory board member. The position is open to students who have served as lead and possibly also serves as an officer for a student orgs. This individual votes as a board members and participates in projects with faculty and staff, preferably also serves in the role of officer for a student org
You will develop communication skills and expand your capacity to work effectively on a team. You will also work independently to develop skills in media, writing, and research. Projects may include aspects of video production, podcast hosting, event planning and evaluation, and others. Some of the specific skills students have developed as a part of working on the MESC engagement team include:
- podcasting skills
- design skills
- web content management skills
- video editing skills
- data visualization skills
- online and in-person forum facilitation skills
- interview skills
Broader skills and abilities you will develop include: teaching and learning skills, critical independent thinking and problem solving, giving and receiving quality feedback, gaining intercultural awareness, research skills, analytical skills, reflective writing skills, persuasive writing skills, and many others.
Assessments: Intercultural Development Inventory, milestone projects, skills assessments for individual media, feedback on writing and communication pieces, resume suggestions based on your portfolio, and others.
Result: transformational experience resulting in confidence about on-the-job skills, and understanding of how degree work translates into problem-solving skills, creativity and real-world success
OSU students enrolled in the undergraduate International Studies program are eligible to earn academic credit, if they meet all enrollment requirements, when working as an intern in the Center. For more information, contact Richard Meltz (meltz.2@osu.edu).
Please fill out the application! You can read the complete guidelines here
The Middle East Studies Center also has volunteer opportunities available for individuals interested in taking part in our community events and pursuing the goals of the Center.
Volunteer Roles
As a volunteer, you will help with the coordination and execution of the various community events put on and sponsored by the MESC. You will have the option to support the events in a number of ways including:
- Social media outreach and engagement
- Event registration and ticketing
- Driving
- Webinar tech support
- Video/audio editing
Volunteers will also have the ability to attend a weekly team meeting to discuss upcoming events and the current affairs of the MESC. These meetings are optional, but strongly encouraged if you intend on pursuing a role as an intern. Please fill out the application! You can read the complete guidelines here.
*The intern position can be paid under the work study program.