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Miami’s Inside Washington program inspires branches across the country

By Kirby Davis, For The Miami Student

In 2001, Miami University launched the Inside Washington program, which immerses students in internships and allows them to network with a wide variety of people in the political community in Washington, D.C. Since the inauguration of Inside Washington, the university has launched 10 similar programs in other cities.

The Washington program originated as a journalism class for seniors and has since evolved into one of Miami's most popular and successful study-away experiences.

"A lot of people have Washington programs," instructor Howard Kleiman said, "but no one gets the kind of access that we do."

Students participating have had opportunities to meet with and ask questions of everyone from congresspeople to Supreme Court Justices to Vice President Joe Biden. This program is through Miami's impressive network of D.C. - area alumni, who are eager to assist the university with placing students in internships.

"It's a fabulous way for students who are interested in both media and politics to examine the intersection of these disciplines," said NYC Media instructor and journalism professor Patti Newberry.

Inside Washington earned such a positive reputation for itself that junior Natalie Williams, who participated in the program last year, said it was one of the primary factors in her decision to attend Miami.

"If I could go back again, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Williams said. "If I could do it 10 times over, I would."

Due to the success of Inside Washington, students can now work with Miami alumni and their associates in cities such as New York, Chicago, Hollywood and Florence. Workshops in Cuba and Cleveland are the most recent additions.

Over winter term, 10 students participated in the Inside Cleveland program spearheaded by Career Services, and found the alumni giving them a window into various jobs in the area to be extremely helpful. Stories from Cuba is another new workshop students will be able to take part in, starting this May, and is intended for Media, Journalism and Film majors. Modeled after similar programs like NYC Media and Inside New York, students will participate in an online learning component as well as traveling to study journalism in Cuba.

These programs are largely successful in offering students professional experience, and giving them a chance to figure out whether they can see themselves living and working in these types of cities in the future.

"I'm seeking to teach students about the world of New York media," Newberry said. "How it's changed in an Internet world, what the priorities are of the news-gathering organizations that we visited . . . I want them to understand the values driving these organizations."

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These programs can be particularly beneficial to sophomores who are unsure of their future career paths or want to know more about professions highlighted by the programs. Richard Campbell, chair of the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film (MJF), feels that they offer more to participating students than potential job offers.

"I think it gets students out of Oxford, gets them a different kind of experience," Campbell said. "They're genuinely interested in finding out what's going on and learning."

Typically, the MJF department's "Inside" workshops include a classroom component as well as traveling, and students receive class credit for their work. They document their experiences in blog posts and research topics in their programs thoroughly before visiting the various cities.

Senior Grace Dahlman participated in the Inside Hollywood program as a sophomore and credits the experience with helping her identify her career path and future internships.

"It actually solidified my desire to want to pursue entertainment or production and move out [to LA] eventually," Dahlman said.

The second program of its kind designed by the MJF department, Inside Hollywood prepares students to spend three weeks in Los Angeles networking with Miami alumni and other connections in the entertainment industry. During those weeks, they meet with people such as Conan O'Brien and network executives, and tour studios like Warner Bros. and ABC.

Like the other "Inside" programs, Hollywood offers students an entirely unique and engaging experience, and while most are through the MJF department, workshops in Washington and Cleveland are still valuable for non-media related majors.

"Meeting so many people that were not only alumni but current students who were so passionate about what I was passionate about . . . it was the first time I got super excited about my major and what I wanted to do with my life," Dahlman said. "I felt like for the first time what I wanted to do was tangible."