North Carolina Chapter of the Indian American Forum for Political Education

IAFPE - North Carolina Chapter - Youth Group

2009 Intership Program under way!

Dear friends,

As the President of the North Carolina chapter of the Indian American Forum for Political Education(FORUM), I am pleased to announce the 2009 IAFPE Summer Internship program. Since 1994, IAFPE has sponsored nearly 100 college students for its Summer Political Internship Program. In its eleventh year, the program is stronger than ever.

Please find the application form for this Internship program here

Let me highlight for you some of the key benefits of this Internship program:

Program Objectives:

Provide students with a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the political process and what it takes to get involved

Increase local college level membership and commitment to IAFPE Create and foster a growing network of current and former interns to increase involvement and support for IAFPE activities nationally

Develop future political thinkers and leaders of Indian origin Engage young adults in IAFPE activities to strengthen its total community resource base and have them participate in running and energizing the organization

Program Description:

The interns will spend 6-10 weeks working in the office of a congressman or senator at the state or federal level, at a non-government agency, or for political parties. Past interns have worked at the Office of the Attorney General, Congress, State House and Indian Embassy and in various governmental agencies such as the Department of Energy. A limited number of interns will be given a stipend. Stipends will be awarded to those interns who demonstrate exemplary performance in their internships. All interns will be assigned a mentor upon entering the program to guide their development.

Selection criteria:

Applications must be submitted by April 1, 2009. Decisions for select internship positions may be made on a rolling basis.

Applicants must become members of the IAFPE and be committed to the advancement of the goals and objectives of the organization by actively participating in The Forum.

All candidates will be required to submit to a personal interview in addition to the written application.

All internship recipients agree to volunteer and participate in subsequent Summer Internship Programs or to serve The Forum in a related volunteer capacity.

Applicants must be current college students in good standing with their institutions. Applicant must be US Citizens or Permanent Residents of Indian origin.

A limited number of stipends will be awarded to interns who demonstrate exemplary performance in their internships. Amount and number of Monetary Internship Awards will depend on the success of fundraising efforts (over the last ten years we have sponsored nearly 100 interns and many have typically received stipends in the range of $500 to $600 for College students and $200 for high school students towards their internship). Payment of stipend will be contingent upon availability of funds, successful completion of internship and submission of an intern’s report and based on appraisal of intern’s performance by manager/supervisor.

Past interns may re-apply. However, they will not be eligible for a Monetary Internship Award if they have previously received one.

Applicants will be notified no later than May 1st , 2009

Please email applications to the IAFPE Internship Coordinator Dr. Kalpana Shah at intern.program@forum-nc.org or Kalapana Shah can be contacted at 919-848-1850.

I also invite you to re-new your membership or if you are not a member then become a member of the Forum to support our activities. The membership form is available here.

Prasad Vanguri
President- IAFPE-NC