American International College Student Interns in D.C.

While many college students spend their senior year sitting in classes, one student at American International College is furthering her education outside the classroom. Oriana Martinez, a Springfield resident, received an opportunity to spend her last semester of her senior year in Washington, D.C., working as an intern with the Department of Health and Human Services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration in Rockville, Md.

Martinez received her internship through the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities National Internship Program. The program recruits college students for summer, and semester internships at federal agencies, and private corporations in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country.

"Oriana has been a model student while here at AIC. Not only does she receive excellent grades, but she is clearly one of those students who really wants to learn and thoroughly enjoys the process," said Gregory T. Schmutte, dean of the School of Psychology and Education. "She found this internship in Washington, D.C., completely on her own and took the steps necessary to make it happen. She is a wonderful representative of our college."

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Martinez has been a resident of Springfield, Mass., for the last 10 years. She is majoring in psychology and sociology, and will graduate in May 2003. "I am extremely happy to be here," she said, "this has been a very enriching experience on many levels." In fact, Martinez has enjoyed her internship so much, she is currently going through the application process for the summer session. "This internship has not only provided me with excellent professional experience, but has given me the opportunity to meet other motivated students from different backgrounds and cultures," she said.

Through this internship, Martinez hopes to further the skills she has already acquired at AIC, and develop new skills that will better prepare her for the future. "I also hope to gain experience in working in an environment that I have not been exposed to before," she said.

Martinez is working for two programs, the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, and the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative. "I assist staff in program development and coordination and management of project and activities," she said, "and research databases to look for legislation on mental health." She is involved with two research projects for these initiatives. One research project involved researching suicide, and the other is on-going research into the possible relationship between substance abuse and trauma in children.

For the suicide aspect of her internship, Martinez was asked to look at suicide rates for the past 20 years. "I was expecting the rates to be higher compared to previous years," she said, but was "pleasantly surprised to find out that the rates have actually decreased."

Martinez's research brought her to discover some surprising facts about suicide. She found that suicide is the third leading cause of death for youths, behind accidents and homicide, and that more people die from suicide than from homicide. Her research revealed that in 1999 alone, 30,000 people died from suicide in the U.S., which is equal to one person committing suicide every 18 minutes, or 80 people committing suicide in a single day." After learning those facts, I became more aware about the suicide problem in the U.S.," said Martinez.

Her assignments for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative aspect of her internship have led her to assisting with the creation of a list of federal agencies and programs that provide services to the needs of children suffering from traumatic stress. As part of her ongoing research on the relationship between substance abuse and trauma in children, she is looking to get a better idea of the situation. "I am trying to find out if there is a relationship between the two factors, how strong the evidence is, whether there are programs that deal with this issue and if there are specific treatments," she said. Martinez noted that there is strong evidence that links trauma to substance abuse in adults, but very little research has been done regarding children.

For more information, please contact the Office of Public Relations at (413) 205-3231. Oriana Martinez can be reached via e-mail at OMARTINE@samhsa.gov.

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