Candidates must be highly motivated, mature and adaptable. Previous interns have worked with the Pan American Health Organization, YMCA, Audubon Society, Fisheries Department and others. Health, communication studies, public policy, education, recreation, environmental studies, business, and others. After submitting a written application and completing a mandatory interview, successful applicants are placed with an agency whose needs match their background and interests. Cortland's Resident Director, Sister Mercy Cervantes, arranges homestays for participants.
Interns take their meals with the families.
Students are thus immersed in the culture and deepen their understanding of the people and customs of Belize. Credits are assigned on the basis of a learning agreement that specifies the formal project or paper that accompanies the journal entries and supervisor's evaluation.