I spent my summer on the Project Children Program, and loved every minute

Summer just seems to get longer and longer while at university (not that we are complaining) but deciding what to do with those four months can often be a pretty hard decision.

Do you want to go traveling, plan a holiday in the sun or spend that time gaining work experience or finding a placement to boost up that CV. What if I told you that you could have it all this summer?

The Project Children Summer Work & Travel Program is a seven week "cultural exchange" program that gives students the chance to immerse themselves in US culture by living, working and volunteering in the US.

Absolutely the palest person in the States

What is the Project Children Internship Program?

In 1975 Denis Mulcahy set up Project Children, a non-profit organisation that worked to take almost 22,000 children over four decades from both sides of the political divide that were most at risk during the Troubles and give them a six week holiday in the USA. In 1995, Project Children decided to build on the success of the children's program and extend it's reach to university students by initiating the summer internship program.

What makes this program a standout among others is that students get the opportunity to volunteer for a week in Alabama with Habitat for Humanity, spend six weeks getting international work experience in their relevant fields and get the holiday of a lifetime all rolled into one!

It is open to all students across both Northern Ireland and ROI who are in full-time higher education and provides them with an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity.

Fresh off the plane at JFK airport

Week one: Building a Sweet Home (in) Alabama

The first week starts with all the interns coming together and traveling from Dublin to the Deep South to volunteer building houses for those who have been left devastated by natural disasters. There you meet all the Project Children team, including Dennis, who is right up there with you on the scaffolding building the house in 30 degree heat!

Although it can be tough work and for most people this will be their first experience of doing any form of construction, getting to meet the people who you are doing it for is so rewarding and knowing you have made a difference to their lives makes those early starts and sweaty days all worthwhile. However its not just all work and no play; in that week you get to go swimming with the other students, visit the University of Alabama water park, visit an "Irish" pub and explore the wonder that is Walmart (this is a whole experience in itself!)

The first week is amazing in bringing the whole group together and making amazing friendships before all splitting off to complete your internships and you'll find yourself missing these people even though you've only known them for seven days.

Who else can say they built a house before?

The almost finished product

Weeks two through seven: Completing internships

After a great start in Alabama, all the interns then head of to different locations across North America to complete the work part of the trip. The companies who offer internships vary from year to year but there is something for everyone across most of the university disciplines, from Law to Architecture to English and History. Check the Project Children Internship Program website to see a list of past and possible companies and get a feel of what you might be interested in.

Last year, students got the opportunity to live and work in different parts of New York, New Jersey, Long Island and Colorado and experience different American lifestyles that are a world away from waking up in a cold student flat in the Holylands! Carrying out these different international work experiences are a great way to make your CV a standout when you return home and will 100 per cent make all your friends jealous.

While completing your work experience, you are placed into a host family that welcome you into their home and almost become your surrogate American parents – feeding you, taking you to work, organising trips, taking you to their family parties and graduations and ultimately treating you like one of their own. Most internships allow time off at the weekends which gives you time to go out and explore all the US has to offer.

Just casually working at a Janet Jackson concert… as you do

And making the six o'clock news like its no big deal

Final week: Big weekend in the Big Apple

At the end of the program, the whole group of interns and coordinators reunite in New York City for a catch-up on all the happenings of the past six weeks. Everyone is given the chance to go out and explore as much of the city as you can in those final few days before coming together for a meal organised by Project Children. It allows everyone a chance to speak about where they stayed, what their internship was like and what they made of the whole experience and find out what everyone else has been up to since leaving each other in Alabama.

If a lovely meal and fancy hotel stay in the middle of NYC isn't great enough, all the interns then head out for an unforgettable night out on the town and visit the infamous Mean Fiddler Irish bar which is the perfect way to round up the most amazing summer experience.

Project Children Internship Program 2018

An amazing summer of firsts

If you are wanting to do something a bit different this summer, make life long friends and better your future prospects – then Project Children is the one for you!

Applications close on 17th March 2019, click here to apply.