Washington Internship Director Khalil Jahshan announced his resignation effective at the end of the fall semester. A new interim director for the program will be chosen in the coming months.
“Khalil chose to step down as director to pursue other professional endeavors at this time,” said Charles Hall, dean of International Programs. “He felt the timing was right in light of the changes that were being made to the program, which is moving from being exclusively internships to a model that includes international study tours and general education courses.”
Following the Lausanne Program Director Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin’s ouster, D.C. is another example of major structural changes within International Program leadership. Jahshan declined to comment, and International Programs Director Jeff Hamilton said he was unable to comment on what is a private matter between Jahshan and the university.
Furthermore, while Hamilton said student opinion is greatly valued, certain administrative decisions do not merit transparency.
“For the respect of everyone involved, necessarily there is going to be ambiguity,” Hamilton said. “For salvaging people’s reputations, it’s better that some things not be heard.”
Hamilton went on to say that “every piece of feedback” from students is heard and that they are working to make Pepperdine International Programs the best in the country.
What is the Washington Internship program?
According to Hamilton, both the Washington World program and the Washington Internship program fall under the same banner.
“I think our internship program is a really robust, exciting program different from anything else our school offers,” Hamilton said. “We get very serious students who are very serious about their future. And they really set themselves up for the rest of their lives with these internships.”
Hamilton said students involved in the program have interned with everything from International Justice Mission to recording studios.
“A lot of our students are on Capitol Hill – obviously they’re involved with senators and congressional offices,” Hamilton said. “We’ve had students who worked with the Supreme Court in the past. Aside from that, it’s whatever students want. The cool thing about D.C. is it’s home to most of the world’s non-governmental agencies. There’s a lot of nonprofits over there – in fact it’s one of the world’s epicenters of nonprofit organizations.”
Hamilton said he sees the most success when students approach the program with specific goals in mind.
“What really excites us is when a student comes to us and says ‘I want to go to the Washington program, and here’s what I want to do. And I know it’s weird and quirky, but can we make it happen.’”
