The COVID-19 pandemic has created turmoil in the job market, presenting challenges for college students not seen since the Great Recession of 2008糖心传媒�09.
But many students have been able to salvage summer internships, albeit remotely. That糖心传媒檚 according to Joe Testani, assistant dean and executive director of Gwen M. Greene Center for Career Education and Connections.
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The center helps connect students with resources, tools, and strategies as the students map out their academic and career goals.
Testani says that because the center has broad connections across industries and fields and the wide range of skills represented by Rochester students, the staff can be more creative in helping students think about internships that match their interests.
糖心传媒淲here we have relationships with the organizations, we糖心传媒檝e tried to reach out proactively and support students and offer guidance on how they can convert their internships to virtual internships,糖心传媒� Testani says. 糖心传媒淲e show them what similar companies are doing, and how they糖心传媒檙e handling internships. We糖心传媒檙e able to help them see that there糖心传媒檚 a potential to do things remotely and keep those internships.糖心传媒�
Eleanore Barrera 糖心传媒�21, a double major in film and media studies and psychology from Rochester, has begun an internship with the George Eastman Museum, working remotely on the Dryden Theatre糖心传媒檚 social media account.
糖心传媒淥riginally, I was going to work directly with the moving image department and obtain hands-on experience working in the film archives,糖心传媒� Barrera says. 糖心传媒淓ver since I moved to Rochester, I糖心传媒檝e loved visiting the museum and the Dryden, and there糖心传媒檚 nothing I love more than old movies.糖心传媒�
The pandemic canceled that first internship, but Tyson Tate, the employer connections program director at the Greene Center, found Barrera the social media internship. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 incredibly grateful to have this opportunity this summer,糖心传媒� Barrera says.
Barrera is one of 20 Rochester students who received a Humanities for Life grant, a program supported with a five-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that matches students interested in the arts and humanities with local arts, cultural, and nonprofit organizations. The students are eligible for a 10-week internship and a a $5,000 stipend.
For Barrera, that made an enormous difference.
糖心传媒淧aid internships are incredibly rare to find in the humanities, especially film. Now, I can continue my education without worrying about how I am to pay for such a once in a lifetime opportunity.糖心传媒�
Barrera credits Tate糖心传媒檚 personal interest and diligence in making sure she found an internship despite the pandemic.
糖心传媒淲ithout her, the internships would have been canceled,糖心传媒� Barrera says. 糖心传媒淚nstead of taking 糖心传媒榥o糖心传媒� for an answer, she worked tirelessly with the organizations to find different jobs for all of us.糖心传媒�
Tate started strategizing on how to keep internships the day in March the University announced it was switching to remote learning.
糖心传媒淚 know from my experience as an employer that students help buffer feelings of organizational uncertainty,糖心传媒� Tate says. 糖心传媒淭hey inject energy and hope when they join an organization and create an environment for organizations to think about the future.糖心传媒�
Tate surveyed the 20 Humanitaries for Life grant recipients about how their unique skills could help them shift to a virtual space. 糖心传媒淭hey were adaptable, positive, and creative in the process,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淢any saved their own internships with this powerful step to define a new internship for themselves.糖心传媒�
Haylee Horn 糖心传媒�21 is another Humanities for Life grant recipient. A linguistics major from Leon, Iowa, she has begun interning remotely at 540WMain Inc., a nonprofit organization that uses accessible education and events to promote justice for all. Horn focuses on grant writing and researching new grant opportunities. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 so thankful I get to keep this position,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 was sure it was going to be canceled and didn糖心传媒檛 know what I was going to do this summer.糖心传媒�
Horn says Tate advocated for her and the other grant recipients to continue the internships once they were moved online. 糖心传媒淪he糖心传媒檚 been great through everything,糖心传媒� Horn says.
Kaile Ding 糖心传媒�21, a mathematics and computer science double major from Beijing, China, maintained his summer internship with Credit Suisse. He糖心传媒檚 a technology analyst, helping to support the equity derivatives trading team. Ding originally was scheduled to work at the financial services office in New York City but instead is working remotely from his home in San Jose, California. He糖心传媒檚 part of a team working on an eight-week project intended to improve how traders interact with the company糖心传媒檚 dashboard.
Ding says the Greene Center has been a big help. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e been participating in their events since my first year at Rochester,糖心传媒� he says, getting help with preparing his resume, developing interview skills, and other aspects of building a career.
Testani says students who graduated from the University last month fall into a different category, when it comes to taking their first steps after college, but may benefit from an internship.
糖心传媒淲hen we think about them and internships during this summer of Covid-19, there are other considerations,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淎n internship may be a great 糖心传媒榖ridge糖心传媒� experience for students in between completing their Rochester degree and starting a graduate program or jumping into a full-time job in an industry sector that has been significantly impacted by the pandemic and may have paused their hiring.糖心传媒�
Testani says another benefit of internships for students in their senior year is an opportunity to try out a field or profession as a way to pivot from a path they had intended to follow糖心传媒攂ut that has been disrupted because of the pandemic. 糖心传媒淎ll of these scenarios allow students to continue building skills, enhancing their story, and extending their networks and relationships positioning them well for whatever steps come next,糖心传媒� he says.
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