Twenty-six students have won grants that will allow them to pursue ambitious projects or work this summer while not worrying about money.

Every year, Bowdoin’s Office of Career Planning invites students to apply for one of the five internship funds it administers. These grants have been set up by alumni and parents to allow students to pursue work experiences that would otherwise be unpaid. Many of the students end up interning at a nonprofit organization or for-profit business, while others create their own project. The students disperse around the world, from New York to Peru, or stay closer to home in Maine, to work in an orphanage, work for a public health NGO, set up an import/export business for Ghanaian artisans, work for a Russian TV news show in its South Asian bureau, and much more.

“All the grants have a different focus, and have been set up by different alumni,” Dighton Spooner, associate director of career planning, explains. “They provide opportunities for students to explore careers and fields that they may have an interest in, or that they want to build experience in. It’s critical for career development.”

Click here for the 2012 funded-internship recipients.