NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

7/08/2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-Northwestern State University sociology major Jason Cole is spending his summer getting a close look at the inside working of higher education through an internship with the Louisiana Center for Women and Government. Cole's internship was coordinated through the University of Louisiana System office in Baton Rouge. The internship program allows students to earn college credit while working in a governmental office.

The University of Louisiana System oversees eight state universities including Northwestern.

During the six-week program, Cole has seen how the Center develops programs to make women more aware of the governmental process and urge them to participate in that process.

Although the Center for Women and Government is located at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Cole is working in Baton Rouge. He puts in regular office hours Monday through Thursday and attends educational seminars on Fridays. Cole said he enjoys the professional environment and working with qualified people.

"It's nice to be in contact with representatives from other universities and see how the whole structure is organized and how it affects people," he said.

"The summer internship with the Women and Government program at Nicholls State is only six weeks. So, much has been crammed into his tenure with the University of Louisiana System," said Dawn Wilson, vice president of student affairs and executive assistant to the president. "Cole is an asset in the office. He is task-oriented and self-motivated."

During his internship, Cole has reviewed and monitored legislation impacting higher education and observed legislative committee meetings and meetings of the state Senate and House of Representatives. He has attended meetings of the University of Louisiana System staff, the system's Presidents' Council and Student Advisory Council and Louisiana Board of Regents. He created memoranda and drafted letters, assisted with strategic planning data and reviewed long-term plans for the system and its universities.

Cole conducted Internet research and assisted in compiling a web traffic report, reviewed campus litigation claims, assembled a board orientation manual for new Board of Supervisors student members and participated in the Leadership and Assessment Institute hosted by the University of Louisiana System, Louisiana Board of Regents and the governor's office.

"Our interns are always valued for their views and opinions and help to shape our work," Wilson said.

Cole said that through his internship, he has learned more about office procedures, how to address officials and obtain information and create spreadsheets and has made many valuable contacts.

A native of Longview, Texas, Cole was drawn to Northwestern by the Louisiana Scholars' College, where the interdisciplinary programming and advanced preparation for graduate school appealed to him.

On NSU's campus, Cole works as a tutor for Student Support Services and is involved with the Sociology Club. He has plans to found an academic journal for the Scholars' College and, as an outgrowth of his minor in philosophy, is working to organize an alternative belief organization on campus.

After his senior year, Cole plans to pursue graduate studies and is most interested in qualitative non-demographic research and ethnographic surveys. That type of research deals less with statistics and more on individual profiling, using words and observations, rather than numbers. The studies can address concerns about misallocating resources "and keep people knowledgeable about the lower tier."

Cole credits the support of four mentors at NSU with providing help and direction. They are sociology faculty Dr. John Hillebrand and Dr. William Housel, Scholars' College faculty member Fraser Snowden and Dr. Margaret Cochran, former director of the Scholars' College. All wrote recommendations for Cole to help him get the internship.

Cole is the son of Lester and Victoria Cole of Longview.

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