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Equitable access to internships helps 糖心传媒 students preview their futures.

Brian Ganeles 糖心传媒�23 was interested in a career in medicine when he entered the 糖心传媒. An internship at Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, this past summer reinforced that goal and is likely to help him reach it.

糖心传媒淚 was able to work directly with physicians and learn about each role on a health care team, through conversations and shadowing,糖心传媒� the brain and cognitive sciences major from Albany, New York, says.

Ganeles was one of 92 Rochester undergraduates who pursued summer internships in 2022 that were funded by the . The center distributed around $240,000 for the last fiscal year, through donations from alumni and friends of the University. Since many coveted internships come with limited or no compensation and are located in some of the most expensive regions of the nation, the funding is critical to ensuring all qualified students can meet their travel, food, lodging, and living expenses.

糖心传媒淭he funding helped me afford housing in Chicago,糖心传媒� says Ganeles, who worked with a team specializing in bariatric surgery, collecting data on the state of patients糖心传媒� health before, during, and after surgery. 糖心传媒淚 was able to buy food and take public transportation throughout the city. And I was able to spend more time on my days off shadowing doctors and exploring my professional interests in health care as opposed to working a second job.糖心传媒�

Jodyi Wren, interim executive director for the Greene Center, says internship funding provides the 糖心传媒渇inancial bridge糖心传媒� that makes experiences like Ganeles糖心传媒檚 possible.

糖心传媒淲ithout this funding from our generous donors, students would miss out on these pivotal experiences that not only build skills employers and graduate school are looking for, but also strengthen their social capital,糖心传媒� she says.

Why internships are important

According to Wren, 糖心传媒淚nternships provide incredible value to a student糖心传媒檚 academic journey. They help students explore their academic interests in real world environments, gauge their desire to pursue a career in the field, build networking connections, develop and refine skills, and help launch them to whatever’s next after Rochester.糖心传媒�

An internship is a job offered to a student or trainee, sometimes without pay, for a limited time. It gives the person a chance to gain real-life experience in a field of interest糖心传媒攁nd in many cases, turn that internship into a full-time job.

Part-time internships are available year-round, giving a college student the chance to pursue an interest while also taking classes. Full-time internships are more common in the summer and more likely to offer pay for services (though not always). Internships allow a student to gain insight into a field of interest, create a professional network, and build a strong resume.

, the National Association of College Employers, recently released the results of its 2022 of more than 16,000 undergraduates from four-year colleges. Joshua Kahn is the associate director of research at NACE, a nonprofit professional organization, or college career services, recruiting practitioners, and others who wish to hire those with college degrees. He says 61 percent of college seniors in 2022 had taken an internship, and of those, half were paid. Paid interns were offered on average of 1.6 full-time job offers compared to 0.95 for unpaid interns and .77 for students who did not take internships. (After a lull in job offers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NACE reported a 31 percent hiring increase for college graduates from the Class of 2022.)

Kahn says college internships are a 糖心传媒渕assively important糖心传媒� step toward landing a dream job.

糖心传媒淔irst and most obvious is skill development and an introduction to the workplace,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淪tudents report they糖心传媒檙e able to learn things they糖心传媒檙e not able to learn in a classroom. And it糖心传媒檚 also a chance for them to determine if this is really the career they want to pursue.糖心传媒�

Kahn says it糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渧ery impressive糖心传媒� that Rochester funded 92 internships this past summer. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 amazing, really,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淢ore than 35 percent of universities have funding in place for low or underpaid internships. We want more colleges to do that, and for funding to come from colleges and universities, and not just alumni and donors. Many students simply can糖心传媒檛 afford to take an unpaid internship.糖心传媒�

Rochester students thrive as interns

The Rochester undergraduates who received funding from the Greene Center for summer internships spanned a diversity of fields.

Grace Stensland 糖心传媒�23, for example, interned in Burbank, California, at Sound Rebels, an audio post-production company, under Emmy Award糖心传媒搘inning supervising sound editor Rob McIntyre. A film and media studies major from Syracuse, New York, Stensland糖心传媒檚 duties included sound editorial and design for animated television episodes airing on Netflix and Nickelodeon糖心传媒攊ncluding her favorite animated show, Netflix糖心传媒檚 Inside Job. 糖心传媒淚n a few months糖心传媒� time, Inside Job went from a show I enjoyed to one with a world I helped bring to life,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭he day season two drops will be one of the most gratifying of my young career and the best binge-watch of all time.糖心传媒�

Stensland has worked at the Greene Center for two years and says, 糖心传媒渆ssentially everything I’ve been learning has come into play糖心传媒攏etworking, professional communication, portfolio development, interviewing, and more.糖心传媒� Her internship was funded by a Class of 1981 endowment which provides financial support for undergraduates who secure unpaid or low-paying internships. 糖心传媒淚 wouldn糖心传媒檛 have been able to do this otherwise,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淟os Angeles is infamous for its astronomical cost of living,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 very fortunate.糖心传媒�

A few miles south in Los Angeles, Panzhen Wu 糖心传媒�22, 糖心传媒�23 (T5) secured an internship at the Arlook Group, a creative management company specializing in talent management, TV and film production, and brand consulting. Her main duty was reviewing scripts the company receives. 糖心传媒淭he interns were given a lot of flexibility and trust to evaluate a script based on our own preferences and opinions,糖心传媒� says Wu, a Shenzhen, China, native who majored in music and mathematics as an undergraduate. 糖心传媒淚 felt empowered and gained a lot of confidence.糖心传媒�

Because her internship was unpaid, funding from the Greene Center proved critical. It covered housing for six weeks, a round-trip ticket from Rochester to Los Angeles, and money for meals. 糖心传媒淏ecause of it, I was financially able to explore other opportunities in Los Angeles,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 worked three days as a crew member on the set of a film, which gave me a more complete understanding of film as both an artwork and a business.糖心传媒�

California wasn糖心传媒檛 the only far-flung state to host Rochester students for internships. Sophie Sweet 糖心传媒�24, a chemical engineering major from Westbrook, Maine, interned in Shepherd, Montana at Floating Island International. The organization makes floating islands created from recycled materials. Sweet糖心传媒檚 jobs ranged from property stewardship and writing grant proposals, to research on new nanobubble technology and harvesting minnows into Fish Fry Lake, once an algae-filled pond but now a vibrant, clean body of water filled with a variety of fish.

糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a small business, so I got to do a lot while I was there,糖心传媒� Sweet says. 糖心传媒淢y internship forced me to be resourceful and adaptive because I had to work with what was on the property.糖心传媒�

Other students found internships that let them stay in Rochester and work remotely.

Daniel Semphere 糖心传媒�23 is a film and media studies major from Lilongwe, Malawi, in Africa. Since May 2022, he has worked remotely as an intern for Syron Design, a Vermont-based corporate branding and marketing firm, helping to create video content.

Semphere has maintained this job into the school year and says, 糖心传媒淚 have frequently taken advantage of the Career Center counselors for their advice.糖心传媒� His remote internship is part of a growing trend that has accelerated since COVID-19 spread worldwide in 2020. According to the NACE survey, nearly half of graduating seniors expressed a preference to work in a hybrid setting糖心传媒攁 mix of in-person with remote work.

Are internships worth it?

Many Rochester students report the benefits of internship experiences on their college education and personal growth. Some have even turned their internships into full-time positions after graduation.

Casey Ryu 糖心传媒�22 interned for Zoom in the summer of 2021 and then accepted a job on the company糖心传媒檚 social impact operations team. Melissa Bucklin 糖心传媒�20 interned at Rochester糖心传媒檚 Medical Center as an emergency department research associate and then was hired full time. She has since started graduate school to become a physician糖心传媒檚 assistant. 糖心传媒淕etting involved with health-related opportunities at Strong Memorial Hospital was one of the most valuable parts of being an undergrad at Rochester,糖心传媒� Bucklin says. 糖心传媒淚 learned so much at the hospital.糖心传媒�

Shoham Shitrit 糖心传媒�22 interned at Microsoft in Seattle the summer before his senior year and then accepted a full-time position on the content management system team after graduating. The team stores articles, documents, images, and videos for numerous websites, including msn.com, xbox.com, and fedex.com.

糖心传媒淢y internship was extremely valuable to me, both from skills gained and learning what it糖心传媒檚 really like to be a software engineer糖心传媒攖he good, the bad, and the ugly,糖心传媒� says Shitrit, a Boston native who majored in computer science at Rochester. 糖心传媒淚 learned what it takes to write code that affects millions as well as communicating with teammates about issues and achievements.糖心传媒�

Students may encounter some surprises as they go about applying for internships. Shitrit says he was turned down for every internship he applied for except the one at the tech giant. Now, he糖心传媒檚 building a career there.

糖心传媒淢y advice to undergraduates is to try it,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淏eing a student gives you a unique chance to try different things in order to form long-term career decisions. Nothing beats the real thing, actually doing what you糖心传媒檙e being trained to do in school. The process can be arduous, but be persistent. No matter how many companies say 糖心传媒榥o糖心传媒�, remember you only need one company to say 糖心传媒榶es.糖心传媒櫶切拇�媒櫶切拇�媒�