Internships Prepare Seniors for “The Next Step”

While many Connecticut College freshmen spent this past summer eagerly awaiting the beginning of their college experience, numerous seniors were taking their first steps towards life after college with a paid internship.  Funded by CELS, the 300-hour internships offered to eligible students the summer before their final year have provided rising seniors with a valuable opportunity to connect their studies with real world experiences and develop useful life skills.
Senior Amanda Jones, a PICA scholar, interned at the Citizen Schools’ headquarters in Boston this summer and was excited for an opportunity that mirrored her interests in public policy. Citizen Schools is a nonprofit that works to provide after-school support to public schools in low income neighborhoods.
The organization is a proponent of extended learning time and operates in eight states across the United States, offering enrichment in everything from academic tutoring to mini-apprenticeships with local businesses.
A government major and economics minor, Jones described her interest in closing the achievement gap as the main reason for her choice of Citizen Schools. “I was interested in working with an organization that works directly with schools that are failing or struggling and provides feedback to make them better.”
During her internship, she worked with the catering companies that supplied the teacher training conference for the Citizen Schools.  Aside from setting up tables, organizing demolitions and accounting for food, Jones also dealt with budgets and taking inventory of supplies.
“While I don’t want to go into event planning, it’s good to know how to plan events, have good organizational skills and be able to communicate with people,” remarked Jones. “It is definitely something that you will probably encounter in most jobs.”
Jones is currently undecided about her plans for the upcoming year but is definitely considering an application for a two-year teaching fellowship through the Citizens Schools.
Just an hour away in Harvard, MA, another Connecticut College senior was taking on a completely different CELS internship.  Lily Beck, an architectural studies and psychology major, chose to spend her summer working with Healing Garden, an organization intended for women coping with breast cancer.  The nonprofit is specifically intended to provide holistic treatment for breast cancer, offering services such as acupuncture, massage therapy and even fly-fishing.
Beck was able to apply her studies to her job by doing interior design work for Healing Gardens, which allowed patients to feel at ease in an effort to further the healing process. She also put together individualized client packets that informed members of opportunities provided by Healing Garden.
For Beck, Healing Garden proved to be more than just a brief summer job. “The time I spent there made me feel more confident about being in the real world next year,” said Beck. “Knowing that I actually ended up helping people; that I’m not just a college graduate and I can do more than read a textbook or take a test.”
While the four-year CELS process may seem like a full-time commitment, senior Kate Gulick-Tuors thinks it’s worth it in time and money.
“I think the CELS program is great because it gives you an opportunity to take an internship that otherwise would be unpaid and therefore more difficult to take,” said an enthusiastic Gulick-Tuors.  “I would definitely encourage freshmen to get involved because the counselors really help with fine-tuning your interview skills and resume.”
Gulick-Tuors decided to stay local this summer, spending her three months in Mystic Seaport’s documentation office. A history major, Gulick-Tuors was well suited for her task of conducting research on historical artifacts for the museum.
Gulick-Tuors also believes the job was a good fit. “I want to work in a museum either right out of school or after grad school in a museum studies program.”
CELS is one of the programs that makes a Connecticut College education unique. It grants students the means to explore their work interests and build their resumes in order to gain a better understanding of their roles in future jobs.