Internship opportunities come with direction. And a course

By Joshua Rosario | Published Sept. 27, 2017

College is meant to prepare students for a chance in a career of the student’s choosing, but is education enough? Internships help give students a taste of their aspiring careers. Internships allows students some experience before graduation day.

At Kean University, the internship process runs more like a class. Before you can receive credit for an internship, you must have already completed 75 credits and at least a 3.0 grade point average.

“No matter what job people are looking for they always look for prior experience,” said Jeremiah Sullivan, Public Relations Professor and Internship Coordinator. “ A lot of times internships are the best way to get [experience]”

Sullivan explained that a student can receive three credits towards their degree. For his students, they meet once a month to discuss the internship. Every week they are submitting a journal through Google Drive, and a final paper. The journals are used to make sure they are actually getting the experience and if they are not getting the experience (or even not into the internship), the issue can be addressed right away.

“At the end of the day, an internship should be mutually beneficial,” said Sullivan. “And the up most for the student it should be a learning experience that is closely tied to their area of study.”

Outside of Sullivan’s office in the Center for Academic Success, his wall and door are covered with papers of different internship opportunities. While most are for public relation students, the communication department, which is also housed in the Center for Academic Success, has a wall dedicated to internship opportunities.

In the Green Lane Building, Joanne Beiter, The Internship Director for the College of Business and Public Management helps with internships for marketing, accounting, finance, business, public management and criminal justice.

“We recommend they come to us. We hold seminars here to do their resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, and interviews,” said Beiter. “ We ask they at least get their resumes looked at and edited before they apply.”

In the fall, the College of Business and Public Management host an internship fair, which this year will be on Thursday, Nov. 16. According to Beiter’s assistant, Stephanie Livia, emails are sent out three times before the semester, during the semester, and before the event. They pass out flyers and speak in classrooms.

“One of the challenges is 70 percent of business students come in from community colleges,” said Beiter. “So we have got to get those juniors right at the fall season and that has been tough.”

Another issue Beiter sees is a lack of a resume ready for those who show up last minute. Beiter and Livia explain it is not an overnight process.

“You have to constantly be working on it,” said Livia. “They will come to me and I’ll help them with formatting, then they go home fix it up again, then they will sit down with [Beiter]”

Both Beiter and Sullivan work along with Blanca Rosales-Ahn, Career Coordinator for the Office of Career Development and Advancement. The Office of Career Development and Advancement is open to all students seeking internships or help with resumes. The office is currently located in room 145 of the Nancy Thompson library.

Internship Opportunities for Communication Majors: http://www.kean.edu/academics/CMJ-Careers

Internship Opportunities for Business and Public Management majors: http://www.kean.edu/academics/college-business-public-management/office-internships-and-cooperative-education

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