Fun in the sun, waves, luaus and leis are expected when vacationing in Hawaii. However, a 2007 Washington High School graduate is in the midst of a trip to the island paradise that may not be quite as relaxing as the typical Hawaiian get-a-way.
Eureka College junior Natalie Wetterauer is currently participating in an internship with the Hawaii Robotics Organization Committee as part of the Ronald W. Reagan Fellowship she earned at the college.
She arrived in Hawaii May 19 and will remain on the island until July 1.
“This internship is allowing me to get actual experience,” Wetterauer said. “It’s not just paper shoving, filing or answering phones. I have a major project that I am in charge of, side projects to work on and meetings to attend.”
Wetterauer’s major project at ROC is to put together a four-page insert for the Honolulu Advertiser.
“This will consist of composing the stories, pictures, layout, figuring out sponsors and whatever else comes up that is necessary for the four pages to be complete,” she said.
Other tasks Wetterauer is involved with for the non-profit include administrative duties, helping with events ROC is hosting and helping with office set-up as the organization moves into its new office building.
Wetterauer, 20, is a double major in business administration and psychology.
“I am interested in working for a non-profit that is specific to helping out kids,” she said. “Psychology will help with understanding how to better market ROC as an organization and the business skills will just be handy to help me understand from an administrative standpoint how a non-profit works.”
Wetterauer added that she enjoys the challenging aspects of the internship such as working in areas in which she has never considered herself to be “strong.”
“I know that it will make me a more well-rounded individual when it comes time to apply for a job,” Wetterauer said. “It also makes me double, sometimes triple check and make sure that the communication letters and press releases that I am researching and writing are worthy of being sent out to people.”
Her stint with ROC marks Wetterauer’s third internship during her time at Eureka College. The first was with Washington-based Miller Welding and Iron Works during the summer following her freshman year.
The second was last summer in North Carolina State University’s Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service office. She also studied abroad in Newcastle, Australia, for four months during the first semester of her junior year.
