Internships are a key part of a college student’s experience and are essential for their future careers. President Taylor’s Strategic Plan Roadmap states, “the University focuses on imparting high-impact practices in all areas of the academic community, from matriculation to graduation and beyond.”
Erin Gabrielle, director of the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) said, “Internships are educational/academic courses that offer a ‘quality learning experience,’ build and enhance skills, gain real-world experience, and establish contacts in the desired career field – all of which boost students’ marketability upon graduation.”
Over the past 13 months, these internships have looked different due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Students have spent a lot of their time searching for a very limited amount of options. Mary Scafidi, senior criminology and sociology major is interning with Dr. Matthew Reid in the sociology and criminology department. She helps him with his website Popular Sociology and does video research and some writing as well.
Scafidi said, “I feel like if the pandemic were not happening, the internship would be different and I probably would not have my current one because I would have more options.” She shared that it has been a difficult and time-consuming process finding internships because many companies are not offering them.
Gabrielle added, “Employers have pivoted and revised internships to deliver high impact experiences whether remote or in-person.” She added that although the pandemic has created many challenges, the “CCPD reminds students that every internship is valuable and they are increasing their skill sets every day to be more marketable and competitive candidates for other internships and job opportunities.”
Krista Michenfelder, senior business management major, interned at Hensley Ellefritz Fitness Consulting, which does consulting for boutique fitness studios. She interned as an operations intern and her daily tasks consisted of creating social media templates for clients’ Instagram pages, creating products for promotional events and writing manual documents.
Michenfelder’s internship was completely virtual, as the office is located in Dallas, Texas. She said, “I definitely feel that I got the same amount of experience and learned so much even though I never actually had to go into an office. I really got to see behind the scenes of the fitness industry and how much work actually goes into having a successful studio.” Michenfelder has since been offered a full-time job as an Operations Specialist.
The CCPD still expresses how important internships are for every student at Cabrini University. Gabrielle said, “Students need to continue to network and market themselves to stand out among the rest of the competition more than ever, (examples include, strong LinkedIn profiles, confidence in behavioral interviewing, previous work experience (full or part-time) and a strong resume.”
They share the importance of keeping an open mind and utilize all resources available. Also developing an “Internship Game plan” and having a few backup options is crucial. Having a fully updated Linked In and Resume to ensure they are showing the most updated and relevant information to a potential employer.
