With financial support from the dean’s office, the Department of International Affairs, the Department of Public Service and Administration, and the Mosbacher and Scowcroft Institutes, Bush School students are expanding their classroom experience by serving as interns and immersing themselves in foreign languages this summer. The School provided more than $215,000 to support these programs and provide stipends and scholarships to assist students with the various expenses of their required internships or language immersions. Students gained these valuable internships and language immersions not only from opportunities provided through Career Services but also from the robust network of Bush alumni working at all levels of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Students interned and/or studied languages in twenty-one countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin and South America, and also across the United States. The languages most often selected were Arabic, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian, with students choosing a language that relates to their area of study.  Internationally, students served in internships with the US Department of State, US European Command, and the General Assembly of Wales, among many others.

Domestically, Bush School students could be found within a variety of organizations, including the US House of Representatives, US Department of Energy, US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. State and local government internships included those at the Texas Office of the Governor, Texas General Land Office, and the City of Nashville. Nonprofit agencies were also internship sites, including World Vision, Boys and Girls Club of America, TED, and Greater Texas Foundation.

Students, faculty, and staff who travelled across the country or around the globe for learning opportunities also took part in the #BushGoesGlobal social media initiative by posting pictures of themselves at their various locations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #BushGoesGlobal. Individuals were encouraged to display a poster with the hashtag provided by the School when taking pictures at the various locations. Whether participating in an internship in Texas; a language immersion program in Italy; a work project in Washington, DC; or a conference in Germany, students, faculty, staff, and alumni used the hashtag to showcase their public service experiences across the country and around the world.