Winning the prestigious internship is a significant accomplishment as National Geographic’s standards are high and the competition is fierce. Shubert, who is minoring in Chinese Studies, Economics and Geographic Information Technology, is one of eight to 20 interns selected annually from several hundred applicants. Each applicant requires the support of at least two faculty members and the student’s department chair. Students must have an outstanding academic record and submit a resume, a transcript and write an essay. The selection of Shubert is a tribute to the quality of service and reputation established by previous Humboldt State Geography majors, 13 in total, who served as National Geographic interns.
“I’ll be working on the international editions with the writers and editors at the magazine’s headquarters,” Shubert says. “I’ll be doing some fact checking, proofreading, editing, writing captions and might have the opportunity to write a short piece that will be published in one of the international editions.”
Shubert, who will graduate in May, spent the fall '08 semester studying the Chinese language at HSU’s sister school, Xi’an University in China. He participated in the summer 2007 Geography field studies program in Tibet and recently received the Gilman International Scholarship to continue his studies at Xi’an University this spring.
“I’ve learned a lot at Xi’an,” Shubert says. “It’s a real study in globalization, history, culture and it’s a real immersion in a totally new language and world. I’ve met with people from all over the world, not just Chinese, but also Italians and Germans and Africans and Kazakhs—it’s kind of like a little model U.N. So, I’m excited to go back for my final semester.”
Shubert notes the rising influence and significance of China on the world stage, which prompted his desire to learn more about the world’s most populous nation.
“China is definitely a place that’s misunderstood and I’ve spent so much of my college career trying to find out about the world—trying to understand the patterns of the global economy and politics—so I figured if I didn’t know anything about China that the assumptions I made about the rest of the world wouldn’t be fully informed. I thought a knowledge of China would really give me a knowledge of the world.”
What’s next for Shubert after graduation?
“Well, my internship is in Washington D.C. so I’ll try to get plugged into something there or maybe go to graduate school and study geography, but I don’t really know for sure. Right now I’m just really excited about this opportunity with National Geographic, that’s my focus.”