Before COVID-19, the event wasn’t part of the Career Center’s plans. “We had lots of programs scheduled for Internship Impact Week in April, but apart from transitioning the internship fair from on-campus to virtual, we had to cancel them,” recalls Stephanie Francis, Career Center Internship Coordinator. “We started planning for summer orientation, and the idea to schedule the internship-related info sessions on National Intern Day emerged as a strategy to engage both incoming and current students, as well as the campus and external community.”
Impacting the community is an integral part of the Career Center’s goal of increasing student access to internships, an effort for which Francis secured support from a UEI Campus Grant. The project includes developing the capacity of organizations to offer high-impact internships. One of the National Intern Day events, an info session to recruit interns for projects Francis helped curate with grantees of City of Sacramento Economic Gardening Fellows Program, is part of this initiative. “It’s not enough to empower students with tools and information on how to get internships,” says Francis. “We need to increase the pool of relevant skill-building and professional growth opportunities by working with private, nonprofit, and public organizations to enhance current internships and create new ones.”
Francis knows this is possible because she helped create the internship opportunity that launched SMUD’s college internship program. Jennifer Madamba MBA’16, the intern-turned-fulltime internship program coordinator who piloted and has led SMUD’s college internship program for more than four years, is one of several alumni guests participating in sessions live-streamed through social media on National Intern Day. Other sessions include a collaboration with the MLK Center to gain internship to career insights from recent grads Chris Pogue ‘18 from Foundation for Community Colleges, Desirae Herron ’18 from WeWork, and John Cortez ‘18 from Google. Sac State Career Network mentor, Deanna Daly, MBA’09 will share recession resilience strategies, and representatives from the Department of General Services, Caltrans, and the California Intern Network will demonstrate how student assistant positions can lead to public sector careers.
Francis kicks off the day’s events facilitating the workshop, Internships NOW: Why You Need One, and How to Get One. “If the title evokes a sense of urgency, it’s intentional.” Francis insists. “Students should start positioning themselves early to get an internship through using the Career Center’s resources; getting advice and referrals from alumni, professors, and professionals in the students’ fields of interest; and integrating an internship strategy into their college experience.” The message is just as salient for staff as it is for students, suggests Francis. “Student Affairs staff are encouraged not only to promote these programs to students but also to participate. Through sharing insights learned from these events, we can all be career ambassadors helping students succeed in getting an internship.”
National Intern Day event descriptions and registration are available on Handshake. For staff participation information about National Intern Day, or to get promotional materials to help spread the word, email internship@csus.edu.
Written by Stephanie Francis, Internship Coordinator