Category Archives: On The Job
Goodwill intern puts classroom knowledge to work
Victoria is a junior studying journalism and public relations at Indiana University. She is a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and is also the director of the Canvas Creative Arts committee on IU’s Union Board. In her free time, Victoria enjoys running and writing.
Last year, I worked as a student ambassador for Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana. As a student ambassador, I worked on marketing Goodwill to students at Indiana University and members of the Bloomington community. My work consisted of hosting events, utilizing social media and a lot of crafting.
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana focuses largely on giving back to the community. They do this through donations at their stores as well as working to educate people at the Indianapolis Metropolitan High School and The Excel Center, a tuition-free charter school for adults.
At Indiana University, my educational focus is journalism and public relations. This student …
8th Annual IMPACT Winners Part II
We recognized six individuals and organizations that dedicated their energy and expertise to successful internships in 2013 during the 8th Annual IMPACT Awards luncheon, sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College. These are the second in a two-part series on winners.
Claudine Meilink
Career Development Professional of the Year
Since 2006, Claudine Meilink has played a key role in facilitating student-employer connections at Purdue University. She wears many hats within the Center for Career Opportunities (CCO), including career counselor, employer coordinator and data collector.
Meilink volunteers as a Faculty Fellow and has served on search committees for various departments on campus. She also serves as an at-large board member with the Career Development Professionals of Indiana and also held leadership positions with Midwest ACE (Association of Colleges and Employers), even chairing two of its conferences.
âClaudine is one of those people who makes working in career services at …
8th Annual IMPACT Winners, Part I
We recognized six individuals and organizations that dedicated their energy and expertise to successful internships in 2013 during the 8th Annual IMPACT Awards luncheon, sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College. These are the first three stories; we will post the other three in an upcoming blog.
Pam Plain Intern of the Year (College/University)
Pam Plain led an international public health initiative as a summer intern with Komen Tissue Bank (KTB) at the IU Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis.
KTB began to collect breast tissue from women all over the world, and started in Kenya, Africa, where the prevalence of a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer is common. Plain made arrangements for facilities and transportation of medical and surgical supplies and volunteer materials from the United States to Kenya.
âThis involved tens of thousands of dollars, superb communication skills and organizational skills, and an understanding …
Legendary Internâs Last Day, New Gig
The first time I walked through the office doors, I didn’t notice much about my surroundings. Like any new grad, I was headed for an interview and my focus was directed at the person I was about to shake hands with and the questions they had in store for me.
This morning, the elevator carried me to a positive and supportive work environment, to people I have come to respect and admire. Ten months after that first meeting, the interviewer is now my mentor, and the questions made room for new ones. My view of the office is still narrow this time around as the superimposed emotional and psychological lens tries to concentrate on the people and the memories that remain.
I know. This sounds too reflective, too nostalgic. This is exactly the state I find myself in on the last day of my internship. The projects are all wrapped …
Ending on a Sweet Note
This is a guest blog by Armenda Boyer, a sophomore at Purdue University. She is currently working toward a dual major in Agricultural Communication and Agricultural Economics. This past summer, she was an education intern for the Indiana State Fair Commission.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I accepted an offer to work as an education intern at the Indiana State Fair. Of course, I expected to have the opportunity to work with children and to share my love of all-things agriculture. And I was able to do just that! What I didnât expect to do involved 6,500 pounds of caramel corn and a national television show…
The Worldâs Largest Popcorn Ball tipped the scales at 6,510 pounds. Check out my last post to see how this massive sphere of popcorn and sugar came together to break a world record! The popcorn ball …
A Record-Breaking Internship: Making the Worldâs Largest Popcorn Ball
This is a guest blog by Armenda Boyer, a sophomore at Purdue University. She is currently working toward a dual major in Agricultural Communication and Agricultural Economics. This past summer, she was an education intern for the Indiana State Fair Commission.
I spent last summer working as an education intern at the Indiana State Fair. Along with the everyday, agricultural education outreach, my internship provided me numerous unique opportunities. And I mean truly unique!
Each year the State Fair highlights an agricultural commodity produced in Indiana. If you visited the fairgrounds August 2-18 you probably recognized the 2013 theme: Year of Popcorn. This field crop was apparent at each turn of the fairgroundsâfrom the child-friendly popcorn maze to the red and white striped, popcorn container-inspired gift shop on Main Street. The focal point of the popcorn theme was certainly the Worldâs Largest Popcorn Ballâa 3-ton caramel corn …
Summer fun: Student interns at childrenâs museum
This is a story that appeared in the ISU online newsroom.
By: Emily Sturgess, ISU Communications and Marketing Staff
Every day children fill the three stories of the Terre Haute Children’s Museum with chatter and laughter as they learn about farm life, play in the two-story tree house and laugh as they stand in the midst of the large bubble ring.
For senior public relations major Casey May, participating in this fun came her summer job.
“I just love that I can be myself here,” said May, a Terre Haute, Ind., native, who interned at the museum during the summer.
From being fingerprinted as a suspect during the CSI summer camp to dressing up as Princess Leia complete with hair buns and a toy gun, May enjoyed every opportunity to embrace the “little girl within” her.
“At any other internship I would have not be able to joke around, act …
Internship Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have some unresolved questions about internships? Whether youâre a college student wondering if internships are the best next step for you – or youâre an employer curious about setting up an internship program at your organization, here is a compiled list of internship frequently asked questions with answers by our internship experts:
What is the point of interning?
Employers: A New Age of Internship Possibilities Students: Internship Experience May Increase Your Salary Discovering your career path Why Intern? Mind the Employment Gap No. 1 Perk of an Internship
Are internships truly a stepping stone into a full-time job?
From Intern to Full-Time Employee Considering an intern as a full-time employee
I hear a lot of myths about internships. What are some truths?
Five Simple Truths About Internships
I keep hearing about virtual internships. What are they all about?
The Potential of Virtual Internships Virtual …
Wabash College Students Intern with Innovative IT Firm
This is a press release from Sara Palmer, senior technical writer at Leonard-McDowell.
Leonard-McDowell, an Indianapolis-based IT and business development firm, welcomes two bright new interns from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.
âHiring interns injects fresh ideas not only into our company, but also into our clientsâ companies,â said Frank Leonard, managing partner of Leonard-McDowell and 1986 graduate of Wabash College. âWe give them the professional experiences they need to have their resumes stand out and they give us a different perspective on business, technology and culture.â
Tyler Owensby, a junior majoring in economics, brings a strong work ethic and a forward-thinking approach to his position as a business development and sales intern. His strengths pull from his natural ability to analyze, minimize and eliminate risk.
âI enjoy evaluating business practices and indicating the areas that can be made more effective to reduce risk,â Owensby said. âNo matter what industry …
Unexpected Internship Realities, Part III
This is the final installment of the series discussing unexpected situations that could arise during your internship and how to persevere and handle them professionally.
Suddenly a wave of panic hits you. You blink a couple times and look at your work again. Thereâs no denying it â youâve made a mistake at your internship.
No one is perfect. Especially as an intern, you should be prepared to experience a few learning curves. Youâre in a unique, somewhat insulated position because the internship is a âtraining wheelsâ experience of sorts, and your supervisor understands that.
In fact, if you donât make a mistake during the course of your internship, thereâs a good chance youâre not taking full advantage of the opportunity. You donât want to approach your work so tentatively that you forfeit any value you might take from it. The point is to dive in and learn by …
Unexpected Internship Realities, Part II
This is Part II of a three-part series discussing unexpected situations that could arise during your internship and how to persevere and handle them professionally.
Itâs easy to build castles in the air when you picture life in your internship. Itâs your first venture into the workforce, and youâre ready to strut your stuff!
Suddenly, you may find yourself hunched over a file drawer organizing hundreds of papers. You may be stuffing, sealing and addressing a 700-piece mailing. If you get yourself into a particularly intense internship like I did, you may even end up out in the rain at 4 a.m. on a Saturday setting up for an event (several times, actually).
Wait, this isnât what you signed up for! This isnât utilizing that higher education youâre paying for!
In each internship, you should have plenty of opportunities to do projects that make a visible difference. You should …
Unexpected Internship Realities, Part I
This is Part I of a three-part series discussing unexpected situations that could arise during your internship and how to persevere and handle them professionally.
You know the two sure things in life are death and taxes, but might I add a third? You wonât get along with everyone you meet.
What if one of the people you clash with in your life happens to be your internship supervisor?
Whether youâve got a boss whoâs a micromanager, an intimidator, a downer or a person generally difficult to work with, here are a few things to remember when you feel your patience waning.
1. Always show respect
No one says you have to like your boss, but you do have to show him or her respect. Do the work they assign to the best of your ability and do it their way. If you have a disagreement, address your boss …
Mind The Employment Gap
From âwhat are you going to do when you grow upâ to âwhat are you going to do after graduationâ to even âwhatâs next for you,â life seems to be one never ending string of career questions. These questions assume that one is continually equipping oneâs self with the tools needed to proceed onto the next career milestone. Up until my graduation from college in May 2011, I thought I was ready to take on âthe real worldâ â to do whatever I was going to do when I grew up. However, like many of my generation, I faced a reality that I was not expecting: the student employment gap.
A labor shortage is a stark realization as the Baby Boomer workforce retires, heating up the competition for emerging talent. However, a striking contrast exists bewteen what employers require and what college students bring to the table. As reported …
Internship offers experience to students of all backgrounds
This is a guest post by Amy Laznik, former intern at Target Marketing. She is a student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
Target Marketing is a marketing agency located in Terre Haute, Ind. They specialize in all aspects of marketing. They design flyers, ads, logos, websites and postcards, and they produce television and radio commercials. They create all of their designs and production in-house.
Throughout my internship experience, I have grown as a designer and a person. I have created ads and billboards for major companies, worked on websites, and I am in the process of learning production. I have learned how to meet deadlines and work with clients. I have also learned great communication skills, organization skills and how to transition from a college student to a professional in the work force.
During my time at Target Marketing, I have faced many challenges, but I have also experienced some wonderful …
Quiet but Mighty, Part V
Three introverted CEOs and what you can learn from them
This is a blog by Susan Cain, author of QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World that Canât Stop Talking. You can find the original article posted on Psychology Today here. This is the final installment in the Quiet but Mighty blog series exploring ways introverts can remain true to themselves and still experience a satisfying professional life.
Many people believe that extroverts are more “natural” leaders than introverts, but recent groundbreaking research out of the Wharton and Harvard business schools suggests that introverts often outperform extroverts as leaders. Here are three examples of outstanding quiet CEOs:
1. Douglas Conant, the much-celebrated and beloved former CEO of Campbell Soup. In addition to famously turning around his company, Conant is well-known for his quietly humane touch. Like many introverts, he’s interested in building alliances one person at a time. For …