October 05, 2009
Imagine working at the NY Mets’ brand-new Citifield
Stadium! Or with Homeland Security? How about helping out at the
Ronald McDonald House of Long Island? Or SIRIUS XM Radio? All while
earning academic credit for your efforts!
These spectacular internships and many, many more were available at
the annual Academic Internships Fair, sponsored by the College of
Professional Studies (CPS) and the Career Center.
Photo Gallery
Droves of St. John’s University students with high hopes for the
internships of their dreams descended on Taffner Field House on
September 29 to meet with representatives of more than 100
companies and not-for-profit organizations and apply for
internships for credit in various professional fields.
Student attendance at the event rose dramatically over last year,
from 567 to more than 856 students—a 50 percent increase. As they
registered at the door, each received a
Passport for Success®, a promotional item created this year by
Fair organizers to encourage them to engage with the employers and
visit as many tables as possible. The first 200 students to have
their passports stamped by at least six company representatives
could turn them in and receive a St. John’s USB flash drive.
Cliff Sebastian ’10, a senior advertising major, was looking for an
internship “in any field of Mass Communications” and volunteered
that he was “very pleased with the event. I met with a number of
organizations and companies, and the [non-Communications] people I
met with were very open about working in other departments in their
companies.”
All Were Welcome
The Fair was open to students from all St. John’s colleges and
schools. For-credit internships were available to juniors and
seniors with 60 credits (12 completed in their major) at the time
of application and a GPA of 2.75 or better, although freshmen and
sophomores were invited to attend. Helena Habib, Elizabeth Medina
and Jenna Diamond, all first-year students, were scoping out the
companies lined up at Taffner.
Asked why she was looking at internships at this point in her
academic career, Elizabeth replied, “I’m eager to learn how to
become a professional and get a full-time job in a company or an
agency,” implying that an internship would surely help that dream
come true.
Jenna was also interested in learning about career options. “I’ve
been looking around but I’m particularly interested in media—the
business side.” She had stopped by the MTV table to learn about
accounting opportunities there.
The number of participating employers also increased this year—25
additional companies staffed tables at this year’s event.
Josanne Swain, Vice President of Marketing & Business
Development at Hariworld in midtown
was pleased with the students she met. “We came away with more than
20 resumes from students eager to learn about and participate in
our wholesale airfare business. In addition, we talked to
your representatives from the
Global Studies Program and will be following up with them for
student travel for these programs.”
Carl Hymans, Managing Director at G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Inc., a public and investor relations company in Manhattan, was
likewise impressed. “The attention to detail created an environment
that was comfortable, organized and fun for both the attendees and
students. Personally, I was able to meet over 60 potential
internship candidates as well as network with my fellow
attendees.”
Several ‘Firsts’ This Year
For the first time, internship coordinators were grouped by career
sector rather than by academic programs, with CPS Department Chairs
and Faculty close by. “Grouping the various internship providers
this way allows students to find them quickly,” explained April
Merenda, Assistant to the Dean for External Affairs in the College
of Professional Studies, who organized the various components of
the Fair. “At the same time, it allows them to look at
opportunities in areas outside their majors, because we understand
that the Millennial student will hold 10-12 positions over his or
her lifetime.”
Also for the first time, an informative presentation, “How to
Prepare for Fall Academic Internship Fair,” was offered earlier in
the month to walk students through the process of obtaining an
academic internship as well as to brief them on the companies
attending the Fair.
“Academic internships are like a foot in the door,” Ms. Merenda
pointed out, citing a report last year in the Wall Street Journal
that said in 65 percent of cases, an internship in a company,
agency or industry will lead to a permanent position in that same
entity.
For more information about CPS academic internships for credit,
click here.
For more information about all internships, academic or paid and
experiential at St. John’s, click here