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Trent Student Selected as One of 20 University Students to Participate in International Internship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtney Baker to Complete Six Week Internship in Botswana

Thursday, April 20, 2006, Peterborough

Courtney Baker, a third year anthropology student at Trent University, has been selected as one of 20 outstanding university students from across Canada to participate in a six-week internship on HIV/AIDS in Botswana, Africa.

"It's been a crazy month," said Ms. Baker who just learned of her acceptance to the internship at the beginning of April. "I'm getting ready for exams, working out my honours thesis for next year, seeing my family one last time, and getting all my travel shots."

Offered annually by Uniterra, a joint initiative of WUSC (World University Service of Canada) and the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), the International Seminar offers students the unique opportunity to study and participate in efforts designed to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations. This year's seminar in Botswana will concentrate on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

"Approximately one third of the population in Botswana has AIDS. It has definitely done damage there," Ms. Baker said. "One of the most important things for me is to help explain the history behind the disease and how it spread. There is a lot of misunderstanding."

As a member of the WUSC committee at Trent for the past year and as a self-proclaimed "social activist", Ms. Baker is looking forward to the opportunity to gain first-hand experience working in the international field, especially learning more about preventing HIV/AIDS. 

Ms. Baker's internship will begin on May 1 when she arrives in Ottawa with the other Canadian students for a week of orientation. After that, the group will travel to the capital city of Gaborone where they will begin an intensive program which will consist of seminars and discussions with local NGOs, a three-day cultural walk through various villages, and a visit to a Game Farm. Canadian students will also be paired with a local student throughout their stay in Botswana. Before returning to Canada on June 18, Ms. Baker will complete a placement in a Youth Centre working with children and youth with HIV and AIDS. 

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For more information, please contact:
Courtney Baker, 741.5988

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Last Updated April 20, 2006