With this award, the National Science Foundation will enable the the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities to place seven students with the Foundation through the HACU National Internship Program (HNIP). HNIP enhances the awareness of federal sector professional opportunities among Hispanic college students. The program is comprised of a fully administered and managed ten-week student internship program. It places college students in stimulating and challenging professional and educational roles within the federal sector. Utilizing an intensive summer model, HACU and the sponsoring departments/agencies provide academically qualified students with experience-based learning. Student interns are placed in federal offices and laboratories located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and in field sites throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Student placements are based upon position descriptions provided by supervisors which detail the academic preparation, work experience and special skills required to perform the job. HACU also provides a parallel set of developmental activities for students placed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area geared to enhance the understanding of and interest in federal career initiatives and other educational information, cultural diversity issues, community service, and leadership and networking opportunities. The internship program is specifically designed to achieve the following objectives: To provide professional experience for Hispanic students that will enable them to make educated career choices; to expose students to research, development, technology, and administrative career opportunities in the federal government; to supplement academic study with practical applications for students majoring in relevant fields and related disciplines; to extend and strengthen the relationship between government agencies/bureaus and HSIs and other institutions that have significant Hispanic enrollment and that offer related academic programs. These ties will continue to offer an expanded recruitment resource to the federal departments; to encourage students to explore and possibly pursue careers relevant to offerings found with the federal sector; to present or make available to both Washington D.C. and field site interns information that reinforces the departmental outreach efforts that assist, train, and prepare Hispanic students for potential federal career opportunities and service.
