Department of Foreign Languages, Spring 2009
Student Sarah Campbell Spends a Semester in Suriname
Commercial Spanish major Sarah Campbell's spring semester took her to Suriname, on the north coast of Latin America, where she interned at the United States embassy in the capital city, Paramaribo. A native speaker of English who has studied both Spanish and French as well as Japanese, Sarah found that her language skills came in handy in the cosmopolitan capital city, where Dutch is the official means of communication, but a variety of language communities live side-by-side. Surrounded by Portuguese, French, and English-speaking countries, Dutch-speaking Suriname also has an indigenous creole language known as Sranan Tongo, or Taki-Taki. Most citizens and residents have a command of English.
Sarah describes her experience at the embassy in glowing terms. The US ambassador, Lisa Bobbie Schreiver Hughes, was a nurturing, hands-on host who encouraged Sarah's interest in the diplomatic corps, and even invited her to Yoga classes. During her time as an intern, Sarah was allowed to rotate between departments so as to maximize her knowledge of the inner workings of the embassy. She spent two weeks each working in areas such as Consular, Political/Economic, Management, and even Military Liaison. Sarah strongly encourages other students to pursue similar opportunities, referring to her own experience as 'life-changing'. Her current plans are to study in Belgium before graduating in spring 2010, and then teach English abroad before seeking a career with the State Department.
