FIRE's Internship Program
November 16, 2009
FIRE's Internship Program
As part of FIRE's efforts to educate students about individual rights at colleges and universities, we offer a ten-week Summer Internship Program. This internship gives current undergraduates the opportunity to assist FIRE in defending civil liberties on campuses all across the country.
Overview
FIRE offers its interns the opportunity to work with the organization's Defense, Education, Development, and Media programs. Interns will also participate in seminars with FIRE's leadership and other experts on civil liberties. The program will run from Monday, June 7th through Friday, August 13th, and interns will receive a stipend of $2,000.
Qualifications
FIRE is looking for dynamic, energetic, responsible, and versatile individuals who possess an interest in FIRE's mission and work. Focus, organization, empathy, an interest in civil liberties, the ability to work under pressure, and a sense of humor are also important. All interns are expected to demonstrate excellent research, writing, and communication skills.
Responsibilities
Interns do substantive work on behalf of rights, liberty, and individual dignity. They will spend time assisting a mentor from FIRE's staff, working with FIRE's Campus Freedom Network, and conducting research for FIRE's other programs. Interns may also help staff members with research and writing, case work, fundraising, public relations efforts, and administrative duties.
Application Procedures
The application period for Summer 2010 internships ends March 31, 2010. All prospective interns will be informed of a final decision within two weeks of the deadline.
Applicants should submit a cover letter, résumé, and writing sample. The sample should be a piece of writing (or an excerpt) no longer than five pages. While the style of the writing sample is your choice, please consider the type of writing done by FIRE. If you do not have an appropriate writing sample, we encourage you to write about your interest in our mission.
Please mail, fax, or e-mail application packages to:
Luke Sheahan, Director
FIRE's Campus Freedom Network
601 Walnut Street, Suite 510
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Fax: (215) 717-3440
E-mail: internships@thefire.org
Testimonials
“FIRE stands out as an organization committed to upholding the principles of free speech for all students and professors, without a litmus test or political agenda. Working as an intern has given me the words to express and the skills to defend what I always believed: the protection of dissent is essential to the preservation of liberty.” — Jaclyn Hall, 2008 Intern, University of Pennsylvannia
“A short time at FIRE is enough to convince virtually anyone that our First Amendment rights are, both legally and philosophically, an indispensable component of American society. Working environments such as the one at FIRE are rare gems which stimulate intellectual development and model the kind of free-thinking milieu they hope to restore throughout academe.” — Brian Mink, 2008 Intern, University of Georgia
“With a staff as religiously and politically diverse and as strong-willed as FIRE’s I was welcomed into the kind of environment in the office that FIRE fights to preserve on college campuses. My summer spent amidst deeply conservative Christians, Green Party liberals and moderate agnostics arguing about everything from stem cell research to Seinfeld was the closest I’ve ever come to an environment with truly free speech. Often times it seemed that the only thing that the staff could agree on was that everyone had the right to say and believe what they wished. That experience, more than the cases we worked on, the speakers FIRE brought in for us, or the CFN conference we attended, showed me the true value of free speech.” — Michael Davidson, 2008 Intern, Princeton University