Applying to See the World
Two BU students vying for three-month traveling internship
Second semester senior Natalie Turturro (CFA’10) was trying to figure out what to do after graduation when she stumbled on a Facebook group promoting STA Travel’s World Traveler Internship. She knew it was for her.
Despite a bad case of mononucleosis, Turturro (above, right) applied for the internship, which enables two students to travel through South America, Australia, Asia, and Europe for three months, blogging and posting online video and audio of their experiences.
First, she had to submit a video through YouTube promoting herself. She was sick in bed when an idea for the video came to her.
“I was trying to go to sleep, trying just to swallow because I was so sick,” she says. “I thought about the ‘travel bug’ idea and wanted to do something original with it.”
She decided to cast herself in two roles: her sick self and a talk show host offering advice for a cure. The video also showcases pictures from her two semesters abroad last year, in Shanghai and in London. She spent 75 percent of her money feeding the travel bug, visiting as many countries as she could.
Turturro will have to beat out more than 250 other students during four rounds of selections before she is crowned a world traveler intern. But even if she isn’t chosen she will find a way to see the world, she says: “I don’t care if I have to work on a cruise ship. I’ll do whatever it takes to see something new.”
One of those other students competing is classmate Keren Eyal (CFA’11). When her sister-in-law told her about the program two days before last year’s deadline, Eyal (above, left) decided to wait instead of rushing things.
“I definitely spent more time with my application than I should have considering my workload,” Eyal says. “But I really wanted to do a good job on it.”
Videos from all applicants are posted online, and voting is open until March 5. Judges from STA Travel, mtvU, and other partners will choose the top 50 videos, based on creativity, uniqueness, video skills, and personality. Winners will be announced March 9. The internship is in its third year.
Although voting doesn’t directly influence the judges’ choices, it helps an applicant get noticed. Vote for Turturro here; vote for Eyal here.
Caroline Hailey can be reached at chailey@bu.edu.
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