(upbeat music)
- The PRAXIS Funding Program is a resource at Smith
that allows a student to receive a grant to support
an unpaid internship during her time here at the college,
and it allows her to participate in an internship experience
anywhere in the world, pursuing something
that is related and often times unrelated
to her academic studies at the college.
- [Voiceover] I was a volunteer doula interning
at El Hospital de La Mujer in Puebla, Mexico.
I would go into the Labor and Delivery Ward
two to three times a week and assist women
through labor and delivery, and trying
to get the doctors to understand
the importance of that because women there,
they have to labor alone, so they're very unaware
of what's going on, and so it can be
really emotionally traumatizing
for them to go through that experience alone.
- [Voiceover] I was a research assistant
at a psychology laboratory
at the University of Illinois in Chicago,
and we were doing research on Latino immigrants and health.
The PRAXIS Internship, it was life-changing for me,
and I think it has been
one of my highlights at Smith, for sure.
For one, because I got to work with Smith alumna
who was super-cool, and she has been a mentor.
She guided me through the project itself,
but also she has been just a mentor in my personal life.
- [Voiceover] The Lazarus Center
really changed my time at Smith.
I learned about different resources like the PRAXIS Funding,
and the huge alumni network that we have,
which we can take advantage of through the Lazarus Center.
So, the Lazarus Center was crucial in helping me
get both my internships at Morgan Stanley
and at the Microfinance Institution in Pakistan.
After I graduate, I will be working at Morgan Stanley
in the Investment Banking Division in London.
- [Voiceover] I think that this PRAXIS Internship
opened a lot of doors for me,
particularly the fact that I have kept in contact
with members of the hospital, and that I can
pursue that further after I graduate.
So, getting that initial connection was crucial
for continuing my global medical work that I hope to do.
- [Voiceover] I was working
in a Hungarian hospital in Budapest.
I work in the Surgery Department
as well as the Vascular Disease Department.
Personally, when I got back, I was just wowed.
It was just different; I felt so different when I got back.
After doing the experience, I felt like I know
I want to go into medicine.
Like, I feel like I'm strong and confident,
and more confident about the decisions I'm making.
I'm just excited. I just want to go to medicine.
- [Voiceover] I did my PRAXIS Internship
at Amrita University in Kochi, India,
and I was in the Nanosciences Laboratory there.
- Hi.
- Hey.
- [Voiceover] Stacey helped get me in touch
with the Dean of Research at this university.
Before the trip, she was making sure I had my flights,
making sure I had everything.
She was helping me through the whole process,
and even while we were there, I would write emails
to her updating her on my research.
We skyped a couple of times.
PRAXIS Program at Smith is really accessible,
and Smith really wants its students to take advantage
of the PRAXIS Program, and they make it very attractive,
and they help you every step along the way.
- I think that the PRAXIS Funding is essential
to the Smith experience.
- The fact that I actually received
a very generous stipend from Smith was the only reason
an internship like this could be possible.
- Oh no, I would not be able to do this internship
without PRAXIS.
- [Voiceover] PRAXIS is unique to Smith.
We are the only college that will guarantee funding
for an unpaid internship at some point
during a student's time here at the college.
I think it's what really sets Smith apart
in terms of its commitment to supporting
experiential learning, and really insuring that students
have access to those opportunities
knowing how critical they are when a student graduates.
(uplifting music)