It might seem that college is nothing more than taking classes during the week and partying on the weekends. But for many GW students, Washington, D.C. provides opportunities that go far beyond the bar scene and extend past the walls of the classroom.

It’s not just about working between courses on Capitol Hill. Many of the opportunities D.C. offers have little to do with politics – financial consulting firms and medical laboratories throughout the city hire interns as well.

That is not to say GW students do not walk the hallowed halls of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, learning the inner workings of national politics and seeing democracy in action.

Sarah Keller-Likins, a sophomore communications major, spent last spring as an intern for Sen. Jay Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.).

Keller-Likins, who learned about the internship through the College Democrats, said the experience of working with the press has been valuable to her development.

“Before you come to GW, it seems unimaginable to be involved in the nation’s capital, but at GW it’s a reality,” Keller-Likins said.

Just what exactly constitutes an internship?

It may be paid, but often it is done for course credit through the University or for no pay or credit at all.

GW students eventually will bring much of their internship experience to their full-time jobs after graduation, said Jonathan Klonsky, public relations coordinator for GW’s Career Center.

“Internships couple the theoretical aspect of a profession with the practical side and help in achieving your goal of getting a job and knowing what to do once you have that job,” said Suzanne Clarke, external relations coordinator for the School of Media and Public Affairs.

The net result is GW interns have one up on their classmates, and they improve their r?sum?s and make contacts that could help them later.

Eva Price, a junior who has interned at CNN’s “Inside Politics” since September, spends three days a week working for Judy Woodruff, one of CNN’s top political correspondents.

Much of the work she does is research on topics and guests for the show, and on the upcoming election. But when she has free time at CNN, her producer encourages her to go down to the news desk and help out the editors.

Price said the practical lessons she learned while interning at Conus Communications, another television news bureau, helped her at CNN.

“It brings what you learn in the classroom to life,” Price said.

GW offers many resources to help students get started on the path toward an internship.

To assist students in finding the right internship, the GW Career Center has subscribed for four years to the JOBTRAK service, an Internet resource that helps students looking for work.

Students can search the database by keyword, location and type of position.

Students also can find out about internships through people they know, such as professors and friends who may had a positive experience with an employer.

Departments on campus often have bulletin boards or listings chock full of internship opportunities. Adjunct professors, who only teach part-time, also serve as good resources because many have another job and connections outside GW.

Some student organizations e-mail or contact members about internships – that’s how Keller-Likins found her Senate internship.

The School of Media and Public Affairs offers a weekly e-mail listing for its students, which allows employers to advertise positions to communications students.

“(The list) is direct contact, where students don’t have to sort through the information, and can make their own decisions on where and whether to intern,” Clarke said.

“This listserv serves as a stepping stone in the process of getting an educational experience, since the internships are brought to you,” she said.

Some students opt to contact potential employers on their own, as was the case with Ben Takis, a sophomore who interns at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

Takis saw a listing in the magazine Downbeat, and called the institute to inquire about internships. The job helped Takis, a jazz studies minor, get his foot in the door.

The internship involves some office duties, it also provides him a wealth of experience and perks such as meeting performers like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

Some internships require a heavy application process, including interviews, applications, essays and references.

But the first step in this process is a r?sum?, which lets potential employers know about a student’s past experiences and helps students sell themselves and land a valuable internship.

The Career Center offers courses in creating a good r?sum?, and incorporates r?sum?-writing into this week’s Career Campaign, which is slated to run from Monday to Friday. The Center’s r?sum? writing workshop is scheduled for Wednesday.

Internship success stories abound at GW. Many are stories of students who got jobs through an experience they had while working as an undergraduate intern.

The Communicator, an SMPA publication, lists the career paths of the school’s alumni.

Lesly Hallman, a journalism major from the class of 1998, had a paid internship with the health care division of the Bureau of National Affairs.

Since May, she has been working as a permanent employee at BNA.

“Class is great, but it is only one form of education,” the Career Center’s Klonsky said. “Internships, classroom education, part-time jobs and work experience are all important.”