Luther College senior Hamilton interns at Ferme Bio D’Enez

Luther College senior Claire Hamilton traveled to Brittany, France to intern at an organic vegetable and dairy farm called Ferme Bio D'Enez, where she was able to focus on improving her French skills and learn about sustainable farming practices in France.

Hamilton, the daughter of Joyce Hamilton of Conesville, Iowa, is a 2015 graduate of Columbus Community High School. At Luther, she plans to graduate in 2019 with degrees in environmental studies and French.

Hamilton believes that she learned quite a bit about herself while in France, gaining confidence in her French speaking skills and learning more about sustainable farming in France, particularly how to use natural processes to promote growth.

"This opportunity opened my eyes to the different ways of problem solving and taking action to address growing environmental issues such as agricultural pollution. Another insight I gained from my experience was the importance of sharing stories and finding commonalities before engaging in discussions of sustainable practices," said Hamilton.

Approximately 10 percent of Luther students take an internship for academic credit each academic year. The Luther College Career Center assists students with their internship search through resume preparation, networking, online internship searches, career fairs, on-campus interviewing, and connecting the student to alumni through the college's Alumni Internship Program. Students also meet with a faculty adviser prior to the internship to create an internship learning plan that includes learning goals and assessment benchmarks. An internship work supervisor assists in the process by writing an evaluation of the student at the end of the internship. Students also complete a self-reflection form to help finalize the learning experience.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,005, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college's website: http://www.luther.edu.