Published: September 24, 2009

As part of the annual United Nations (UN) international gathering  at Fordham, a student-centered conference was held in the South Lounge to give practical advice on getting UN experience.

A wide variety of professors who have worked with or at the UN presented, including Fordham professors Chris Toulouse and Fred Campano and Kelly Roberts, assistant director of Fordham’s Office of International Services. Also presenting were Patrick Sciaratta of Friendship Ambassadors’ youth program, Jo Anne Murphy of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rivka Meir of the City University of New York and Uwe Gielen of St. Francis University.

The timing of this year’s meeting was particularly relevant, as the 62nd annual meeting between the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) and international NGOs was just held in Mexico city on Sept. 11 of this year. Kelly Roberts, who also serves as Youth Subcommittee Chair of the DPI/NGO Executive Committee, attended the conference with Fordham Alumna Sandra Choi. Choi, a graduate student at Fairleigh Dickinson who is currently interning with the DPI, had something to say about how she managed to gain the widely-coveted internship.

“Try hard,” she said, “and remember that there are about five rejections for every offer, so try, try again.”

Professor Campano, who worked as an economist at the UN for over 30 years, also gave advice on getting a job there. He mentioned that, although the screening process to get a job as representative at the UN is long and competitive, a viable option is to shortcut the process by taking a clerical position there first, which gets a foot in the door. Campano recalled the many NGOs that work with and in the UN, and recommended them as a way to get involved on the grassroots level, either as a volunteer or professional.

Jo Anne Murphy offered advice to students to increase UN presence on campus. “Put pressure on your university and encourage them to create these opportunities for you,” Murphy said. “You create the your own opportunities by the interest and excitement you show in your schools.”

Fordham offers an array of UN-related resources. Professors Campano and Harold Takooshian, for example, published a paper in Pyschology International May 2008 on how students can become involved in UN work. Kelly Roberts is available at the Office of International Services to help students get international experience through study abroad and UN ad-hoc volunteering, which students can read about on Fordham’s Impact Initiative blog. Whatever you do, “Enjoy it,” said Choi, whose own successful venture into the UN taught her to “soak up every experience because it all has something to teach you.”