HIGH POINT, N.C., July 28, 2009 – Samantha Stevenson, a rising junior majoring in Spanish at High Point University, spent six weeks this summer interning in El Salvador with the organization Orphan Helpers.
During the internship, Stevenson lived in a halfway house with nine teenage girls and their nine children, all of whom were victims of abuse. Stevenson worked in a girls’ prison in the mornings and in a boys’ orphanage in the afternoons. She taught English classes, led arts-and-crafts projects, led Bible studies and assisted with sports days.
“I was able to observe the culture of El Salvador through working in the orphanage and prison,” says Stevenson. “I worked directly with government employees, so I gained some insight into how the police system, security systems and legal issues work.”
Thanks to the internship opportunity, Stevenson was able to be completely immersed in the Spanish language and culture of El Salvador.
“It was truly a life-changing experience, and it helped me to improve in my Spanish proficiency and increase my knowledge of Hispanic culture, especially that of Central America,” Stevenson adds.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 6 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” HPU was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” 2009 listings. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and seven graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at http://www.highpoint.edu/.
Chris DudleyVice President for [email protected]