Opening the Door to the Big Apple

Alumni Lend a Helping Hand to New York-Bound Students

LSU New York Alumni President Nancy Little with Chancellor O’Keefe at the 2005 NY Metro Tigers Crawfish Boil.

June 2006 — It all started when she was a student. Nancy Little was a mass communication major at LSU in 2001 when she heard the call of the big city.

“I told my friend Beverly Major that I really wanted to do something,” she said. “I wanted to go to New York, I wanted to intern in New York … but how do I do it?”

Little’s question is one asked by dozens of LSU students every semester. Whether it is New York, Washington, D.C., or a foreign destination like London or Paris, LSU students want to get out and experience the world. Sometimes, however, that is easier said than done. While companies worldwide are eager to provide internship opportunities for students, oftentimes those internships are unpaid, and the costs associated with relocating to a big city are daunting for students who have very little money saved.

“I remember being that student,” Little said. “If I get the internship, then what’s the next step?” Little, who is now the president of the LSU New York Metro Alumni Association, would tell you that the next step would be finding a way to pay for rent, food, transportation and other costs of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. “We tell anyone moving to New York, you need to have at least three to five thousand dollars cash, because that’s just what it takes,” she said.

So when the LSU New York Alumni Association had a few dollars to spare after its highly successful annual crawfish boil, Little knew exactly what she wanted to do with the money – help those students who, like herself many years ago, face a roadblock when it comes to accepting internships in New York. Little approached the New York Alumni Association’s board with an idea to start a scholarship program at LSU to help students with the expenses of interning in New York City.

Look at all the people at the massive annual LSU NY Alumni Crawfish Boil! The proceeds from this crawfish boil alone founded the New York Alumni’s scholarship program.

“We wanted to create something that would offset the cost of living for students living in New York because many of the internships available are unpaid,” Little said. “The money can go to help a student with housing. A ballpark figure for rent in New York is about a thousand dollars, and the average student can’t pay that. If a student does have accommodations, then maybe this can assist them with having money in their pocket as far as a salary is concerned.”

Little says the New York Alumni Association established the scholarship with an initial $2,500. LSU Career Services awards the scholarship funds to a student who secures an internship in New York City and meets certain selection criteria. This year’s recipient is LSU mass communication student Rebecca Beacham, a senior who will be interning with The Advertising Club of New York. Rebecca will receive $500 to help offset the cost of moving to and living in New York.

Little also said the New York Metro Tigers are actively campaigning to secure more internship opportunities for LSU students. In the past year, Little said the Hearst Corporation, Cosmo Girl Magazine, and the Women’s Sports Foundation have all opened their doors to prospective interns from LSU, with more on the way.

In the future, Little hopes to expand the amounts collected and rewarded through the scholarship program. “Hopefully, in time we can pay someone’s expenses entirely to New York,” she said. “I don’t want LSU students to be penalized because they don’t live in New York. If someone has their dream job in New York, we want to make that dream a possibility. If we can do that as LSU graduates, then that’s what we want to do.”

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Michelle Spielman
LSU Office of Public Affairs