Of the many opportunities the Honors College provides for its students, one of the most exciting is with the LCU Washington program partnership with the Washington Center. The Washington Center works with the LCU Department of Global Campus, headed by Director Page Carter, in order to give students a semester long internship in Washington D.C., allowing students to gain real world experience while earning 12 hours of college credit. The students greatly enjoy a variety of internships. Some learn that they are working in the correct field for them, allowing them to further their studies and connections within any particular field. Others discover what jobs they really do not want to do, allowing them to better understand their calling in life. Whether or not the internship leads to a future job, the LCU Washington program is a productive, enlightening way for students to spend a semester because it is an opportunity to grow and be challenged in new, unexpected ways.

The Washington Center works to connect students with the internship that complements both the student’s major and personal interests. For Elise Buraczyk, a Pre-Physical Therapy major, the Washington Center ultimately paired her with the Peace Corps Office of Health Services, where she was offered an internship in the Epidemiology Unit and the Post Service Unit.

Throughout the internship, Elise remarked, “I was actually given multiple opportunities to use my major and add my knowledge to their team to better the volunteers’ time of service. I think this worked well for me and really made me grow as someone going into the health profession.” Her time spent as an intern with the Peace Corps also helped Elise better understand the many different working pieces in the health profession, giving her additional insight into her future career as a Physical Therapist.

However, for Elise Buraczyk, her investment in the Peace Corps did not stop with a summer internship. About halfway through the summer, Elise, “felt called to apply to become a volunteer.” She applied and was accepted to be a Health Extension Volunteer in Zambia starting this summer. She will serve for 27 months, and she will be focusing, “on HIV/AIDS prevention, Malaria control and prevention, children’s and maternal health and nutrition,” among other things to help the people in the community. Near the end of the interview, Elise said, “I believe that God has prepared me for this, and I am so excited for this life changing experience.”

The Honors College is grateful to have the opportunity to work with the LCU Washington program and the Washington Center. We love seeing the students at LCU grow and thrive as they seek after God, and so we are proud to offer every student at LCU the opportunity to work a semester internship in Washington DC. For some, like Elise Buraczyk, this opportunity led to the next step in her life. We at the Honors College are proud of how far Elise has come, and we cannot wait to see where Elise goes next.