Aug. 7, 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - For many college students, summertime means relaxation, the beach, and getting away from the stresses of school work. For many members of the LMU women's basketball team, this summer has been anything but a vacation as they have stayed busy in a variety of activities, both on and off the field.

For the first time, Head Coach Julie Wilhoit has encouraged any student-athletes not taking summer school to instead find themselves a summer internship. The Lions have responded, securing experience in fields from at-home education to non-profit refugee rescue. The following is the players' first-person reports of what they have been doing on their summer vacation:

Senior guard Lisa Helmers: "I am working at a tutoring company called Launch Education. The company is based out of Santa Monica, on 16th street and Olympic. Launch provides in-home, private tutoring around the Los Angeles area. The company is currently trying to expand to three new locations; New York, Washington D.C., and Boston. For my internship I am conducting market research on the Washington D.C. area in order to assist the company in entering the market. I am working Mon - Fri from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for seven weeks. I have been researching information on the schools, specialists, and competition in the area and will be compiling it into a final presentation for the company. So far, I have enjoyed working within the office alongside the fun, upbeat employees. I am learning a lot about Excel formulas and how to efficiently conduct and present research. I am interested in the field of education as well as business development and this internship has allowed me to see first hand what makes a successful tutoring company as well as how a small business can expand."

Senior forward Jenna Sybesma: "I am doing my internship in Downtown L.A. with the Los Angeles Sparks. I do a variety of things such as working on the computer making Excel spread sheets for certain sponsors for the Sparks and organizing when and what sponsors take place for each game. I help make the scripts for the players when they are doing commercials or ads for the gamedays. I attend every home game and I also pick all the contestants for the events at each home game. I also help out with gameday media guides and greet the sponsors that attend the games. I go to work every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to about 3 p.m. I like working with all the people in the office. It seems like everyone truly is a TEAM and everyone works for each other and well with each other. I also like doing community service with the team. My favorite was when we went and painted and fixed up apartments for abused women trying to make it on their own and get away from their abusive relationships."

Redshirt junior center Maggie Burkett: "Currently I am interning with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The IRC is a non-profit organization the helps resettle refugees from all over the world. The International Rescue Committee is on the ground in 42 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees, and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. Through 24 regional offices in cities across the United States, we help refugees resettle in the U.S. and become self-sufficient. The Los Angeles office is located in Glendale, so a bit of a drive but definitely worth it!

I am involved in working with the Matching Grant Program, which is an early employment program for refugee clients. Once arriving in the U.S. refugees involved with MGP have 120 days to find employment while having assistance from the IRC. So during this timeframe, I am working directly with refugees to complete a resume, conduct job searches, discuss interview techniques/mock interviews as well as hold workshops covering what is expected in the American workplace (such as dress attire and proper professionalism). I am also involved with the Citizenship and ESL programs. For the Citizenship program, I am working directly with the citizenship director in order to make clients more aware of the services the IRC provides in gaining American citizenship. Therefore, I look through clients files and IRC databases to identify which clients are eligible for citizenship. I then contact those refugees and explain to them the services the IRC provides and the importance and advantages of them acquiring American citizenship. My work with the ESL program consists of conducting research on the internet as to what english classes and programs are offered in the Los Angeles area for the refugees to become involved with and be better able to adjust to the American lifestyle

I work three days a week from 11am-4pm and will be interning with the IRC until August 7th

I do many interesting things everyday! Each day, I have a new project with the programs I am involved in that builds upon what I have completed the previous days. Although I find it all interesting, I like interacting and helping the refugee clients in the job search process because it is important for them to become self sufficient and have a job in order to provide for themselves. Also it is interesting the requirements and difference in being certified in a profession here in the U.S. compared to foreign countries.

The IRC is one of 10 voluntary organizations located in Los Angeles that assists in refugee resettlement. The Los Angeles IRC every year resettles over 4,000 refugees to this area, which is the largest amount of refugee resettlement cases compared to the other 25 offices in the U.S.. Primarily, the Los Angeles office resettles Armenian Iranians whom are escaping religious persecution in their homeland. However, the IRC also resettles many Iraqi, Sudanese and differing nationalities around the world. Many of the refugees resettled in LA have some type of higher education from their homeland and held jobs such as Physicians, Bankers and Engineers. They are classified as "urban refugees" which is why they were relocated to a metropolitan area. Last summer I was involved with the IRC in Boise and the refugees that weere resettled to the Boise area where less educated, had minimal English ability if any and were classified as "rural refugees" in which their skills where consisted primarily of farming and agriculture, which Idaho was a better fit for their skills to be put to use.

In the month that I have been involved with the IRC L.A. I have learned so much about the organization and truly enjoy what I have been involved with so far. I feel that everyday I make some sort of contribution towards a refugee client's life for the better and it is a great feeling to know that my work is making a difference in people's lives. All the information about what I have been involved with and the interesting facts that I have learned so far are just a scratch on the surface as to what all the IRC is involved with in resettling refugees. Check out the website www.theirc.org to find out more information!

Redshirt junior guard Jessica Vargas: "I've been back home in Flagstaff, Ariz., since May working in the Medical Division at W.L. Gore & Associates. My job is to build a searchable database of previously performed scientific experiments to develop medical products such as stents, vascular grafts, sutures and other cardiovascular devices. When I'm not populating my database, I get to put on a pair of scrubs, a hairnet and face mask, watch medical procedures and ask questions! I love how any question I have is encouraged, openly received and answered to the best of their abilities, the way I am made to feel included, and the fact that everything about my job is so cool! I had no idea how extensive the process of developing a potentially life-saving device is, and all of the safety checks and protocols that it must pass in order for it to be approved. In the category of miscellaneous cool stuff, I get to wear a badge with my picture on it, and simultaneously get to be in the same room with absolutely BRILLIANT minds, surgeons and engineers!"

Junior guard Renahy Young: "Three days a week, I work at Lip Ink International, a lipstick company based in El Segundo. I take customer service calls, input orders into the computer, and deal with affiliate companies. I've dealt with interesting people; the people are great and I love how close it is to LMU. I also love makeup so being around it all day keeps me in great spirits. ;) I work closely with the creator and owner of the business and I didn't realize just how much goes into actually running your own business. The coolest thing I got to do was a professional video shoot for the website to show customers how to apply the products."

In addition, senior guard Kavita Goss is interning in the LMU women's basketball office. She reports back on her summer activities on Vita's Voice, the newest player blog. You can read about her adventures at http://www.lmulions.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/vitasvoice.html.

Several players, including sophomore guard Candice Nichols and newcomers Camille Buckley and Courtney Collishaw, are enrolled in summer school classes.