This story was originally posted on 12 February 2013

By Silma Suba

Thirteen journalism students from NU-Q’s class of 2014 will be leaving for their residencies in New York, Washington, D.C., London and Paris this Friday, Feb. 15.

A Qatari journalism junior, Yara Darwish, said she will be going to Amnesty International in Washington D.C for her residency. “It was my first choice, and I was really nervous because they [Amnesty International] took a long time to reply.”

“I was asked to work for Qatar Foundation International instead, but Amnesty accepted me at the last minute and I was really happy,” said Darwish.

All journalism students at NU-Q are required to spend 10 weeks interning at various organizations outside of Qatar as part of the Medill School of Journalism’s Residency program. The program aims to give students international exposure and practical experience in the field of journalism.

Zineb Abdessadok, another journalism junior leaving for her residency, will be working for Time magazine in New York City. According to Abdessadok, New York has always been her favorite city and going to work there might open a lot of opportunities for her.

“I’ve always felt that New York is the cutting edge. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” said Abdessadok.

Other students from Abdessadok’s class will be working at The Huffington Post, Sports Illustrated magazine and Conde Nast Traveler magazine in New York. Other students will work at Content That Works and Catalyst magazine in Chicago while several students will also be doing their residencies at public relations firms, like Grayling Communications in London and Fleishman-Hillard in Paris. One student will work for Bloomsbury Publishing in London.

Richard Roth, senior associate dean of NU-Q, explained that the strategy of the residency program is to choose the right person for the right company. “I ask them [students] to give me three choices of firms they wish to work with (and) then I try my best to give them what they want,” said Roth.

“But not everyone can make it everywhere, so we consider the students’ capabilities and where they will do best,” he added.

According to Dean Roth, the feedback from students and employers who were a part of previous residency program experiences, have been important motivating factors for both the students and the journalism faculty.

“We receive letters from different firms saying that the student has surpassed their expectations and that makes us really proud. We believe then that we’re doing things the right way,” said Roth.

“I personally visit the students somewhere near the end of their residency and ask the supervisors about their progress… [and] so far the feedback has always been positive, and we have never faced any problems, “ he said.

Although students say that although the experience appears intimidating at first, they are excited to experience living and working in a new place on their own.

“I can’t wait to visit different places, to go to New York for a week perhaps to go shopping, do a lot of things and enjoy my stay,” said Darwish, with a laugh.

“It’s a chance to test our journalistic skills, as well as develop ourselves as independent individuals,” she added.