Share your voice and get paid to write! International Student & Scholar Services is recruiting international students and scholars to tell their story of living, studying, and working in Austin. ISSS staff members are seeking undergraduate, graduate, and exchange students, as well as visiting J-1 scholars, to write a monthly column for the ISSS blog about their experiences at UT. The column will be advertised on the ISSS website, Facebook page, and by email to enrolled international students and scholars at UT. Columnists will receive a $100 stipend at the end of the semester and be invited to special International Office events as a student or scholar ambassador.
Topics for blog posts could include:
- Making friends in the U.S.
- Adjusting to U.S. and Austin culture
- Experiences in the classroom
- Maintaining relationships with family and friends back home
- Eating habits
- Finding a job in the U.S.
- Internship experiences in the U.S.
- Experiences travelling to or around the U.S.
- Observations on student life at UT
Blog posts should be written in the student or scholar’s own voice, have a human interest element, and demonstrate English proficiency. Students will be required to submit one column (300 – 500 words) every 4 weeks. ISSS has the right to edit columns for content, keeping in mind that the blog is a representation of university. Columnists will be given a $100 stipend for their work at the end of the fall (4 columns) and spring semester (4 columns) and $50 at the end of the summer semester (2 columns), if they meet their submission deadlines.
Application:
Interested writers should submit a column written on one of the topics listed above to mmerchant@austin.utexas.edu by 5 pm on April 11, 2014. Please submit the blog post as a PDF, along with a 100-word biography (bio) and photo. The bio should include your name, home country, degree and major or research topic, and the length of time you have lived in the U.S. In addition, in the body of your email, please explain your interest in the international voices columnist position and provide an idea you have for a column for the fall 2014 semester.
Four international student or scholar columnists will be chosen by members of the ISSS social media committee based on applicants’ writing samples. Also, selections will be made with the desire to have representation from a variety of academic programs, countries, and experiences in the U.S. represented by columnists.
Applicants will be notified by April 18, 2014 if they have been selected by ISSS as a columnist, to begin in the fall 2014 semester.
Eligibility:
- Columnists must be enrolled international students at UT Austin for the 2014-2015 school year OR J-1 visiting scholars with a focus in Humanities, Communications, or Journalism
- Columns must be written in English.
- Columnists must be willing to have their name, photo, and bio published on the ISSS blog.
- If selected, columnists will commit to writing 4 blog posts for the Fall 2014 semester (September, October, November, December). They will have the option to continue as a columnist for the spring and summer 2015 semesters.
- Columnists also will be required to attend a one-hour training in May 2014 before assuming their roles.
