In addition to getting to spend time with friends and family over winter break, several Southwestern students will have the opportunity to explore careers they are interested in.

More than 20 students have signed up to participate in this year’s Pirate Apprentice Day program, which is sponsored by Career Services. The program matches sophomores with alumni in their hometowns who work in fields in which they are interested. Maria Kruger, the internship coordinator in Career Services, said the program was started to motivate sophomores to start thinking about summer internships and also about career development in general.

Students who have been paired with alumni include the following:

·         Art history major Megan DiNoia is shadowing Alison Dowdy, a 2001 graduate who is an art instructor for the Parks & Recreation Department in Edmond, Okla.

·         Sociology major Callie Dyer is shadowing Janis Love, a 1968 graduate who is director of the Community Charity Eye Clinic in Oklahoma City, Okla.

·         Chemistry and anthropology major Fehima Dawy is shadowing Dr. Jim Burkholder, a 1976 graduate who is a dentist in Harlingen, Texas. 

·         Kinesiology major Lyndsey Resnik is shadowing Eliette Cohen, a 1997 who is owner of KidTherapy Rehabilitation Center in Austin. 

·         Psychology major Angie Klemm is shadowing Mary Beth Kopsovich, a 2003 graduate who is the Arlington Site Director for SafeHaven of Tarrant County. 

·         English major Allison Chance is shadowing Leah Aschmann, a 1999 graduate who is the economic program developer for Neighborhood Centers, Inc. in Houston.

·         Psychology major Erika Sells is shadowing Dr. Cara Frontz, a 1994 graduate who is the science instructional dean and biology teacher at MacArthur High School in San Antonio.

·         Communication Studies major Kym Joire is shadowing Dee Dee Thomas, a 1993 graduate who is the supervising managing producer for The Today Show in New York City.

·         Biochemistry major Shannon Bernbaum is shadowing Dr. Ross Tobleman, a 1998 graduate who is the medical director of the Emergency Department at Scott & White Hospital in Round Rock.

Several students also will be shadowing non-alumni. Business major Austin Painchaud will shadow game operations personnel at a Houston Rockets game and also at a Rice University basketball game. Sociology major Laura Wooden is shadowing the volunteer coordinator with the Methodist Children’s Home in Lexington, Ky. Spanish major Shaylee Bushner will shadow attorneys with Legal Aid of Western Missouri in Kansas City, Kan.