Column: Make a difference with MTI internship
Danielle Cerullo
Issue date: 9/23/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
9/23/09 - MTI, the Mentor/Tutor Internship, is a great way to get out of the university classroom and participate in a hands-on experience off campus this semester.
MTI offers URI students three 300-level internship credits for volunteering 40-44 hours of their time, helping other students and making a difference in educational programs throughout Rhode Island.
Students have a large variety of volunteer sites to choose from. They range from evening adult literacy and citizenship programs in Cranston to elementary, middle and high schools throughout Providence and Washington County. MTI has partnerships with all types of educational programs and schools in order to accommodate all university students' schedules and preferences.
The MTI coordinators do their absolute best to guarantee that students are matched with their preferred site through a placement survey.
Apart from volunteering at these sites, MTI students meet weekly for a 50-minute discussion about their placements. This discussion helps students open up to their peers about their experiences and to collaborate on finding solutions to problems.
Not only do MTI students get the opportunity to collaborate and create bonds with fellow MTI interns, but they also get the opportunity to create the same types of relationships with students and teachers at their placements. "My favorite part about MTI is the relationships that you get to create with the students and teachers that you meet," MTI's newest teacher's assistant and former intern, Katie McAllister, said. "In the end you realize how much of an effect this experience has had on you as a person. Even after the semester was over, I continued to volunteer every Friday at my site, The MET in Newport. It has become such a large part of my life, that I am now focusing my honors project on teaching a class at the MET."
Much like McAllister, many MTI interns enjoy their internships so much that they return to MTI for three more internship credits or to become TAs. MTI allows students to register for up to six credits, even within the same semester.
For more information about MTI you can check out our Web site at www.MTIURI.com. To sign up, stop by our office in the basement of Washburn Hall in room 20. New interns are required to attend the MTI training this Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center. For all those interested, don't hesitate to join!
MTI offers URI students three 300-level internship credits for volunteering 40-44 hours of their time, helping other students and making a difference in educational programs throughout Rhode Island.
Students have a large variety of volunteer sites to choose from. They range from evening adult literacy and citizenship programs in Cranston to elementary, middle and high schools throughout Providence and Washington County. MTI has partnerships with all types of educational programs and schools in order to accommodate all university students' schedules and preferences.
The MTI coordinators do their absolute best to guarantee that students are matched with their preferred site through a placement survey.
Apart from volunteering at these sites, MTI students meet weekly for a 50-minute discussion about their placements. This discussion helps students open up to their peers about their experiences and to collaborate on finding solutions to problems.
Not only do MTI students get the opportunity to collaborate and create bonds with fellow MTI interns, but they also get the opportunity to create the same types of relationships with students and teachers at their placements. "My favorite part about MTI is the relationships that you get to create with the students and teachers that you meet," MTI's newest teacher's assistant and former intern, Katie McAllister, said. "In the end you realize how much of an effect this experience has had on you as a person. Even after the semester was over, I continued to volunteer every Friday at my site, The MET in Newport. It has become such a large part of my life, that I am now focusing my honors project on teaching a class at the MET."
Much like McAllister, many MTI interns enjoy their internships so much that they return to MTI for three more internship credits or to become TAs. MTI allows students to register for up to six credits, even within the same semester.
For more information about MTI you can check out our Web site at www.MTIURI.com. To sign up, stop by our office in the basement of Washburn Hall in room 20. New interns are required to attend the MTI training this Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center. For all those interested, don't hesitate to join!
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