With spring and summer opportunities aplenty, the Career Center can assist students in finding positions from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires to Washington D.C.
By Sarah Carrillo
News Assistant
One of the most important learning experiences that a student can have in college does not take place inside of a classroom, but rather out in a real work environment. As students begin registering for next semester classes and seniors are preparing to enter the work force, some are realizing that there is more to education than merely showing up to class. With an internship, students learn about their future career first-hand and develop an understanding of the way the real world works.
“Students are able to practice their area of study in a work environment,” Nancy Shatzer, Internship Coordinator for the Career Center, said.
Students who have had an internship also said that it is an invaluable experience.
“Doing an internship is one of the most beneficial ways of stepping out into the world,” said senior Neal Murata, who has completed internships at the First Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C., Univision television station in Los Angeles and the U.S. Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. “It has been one of the most positive experiences I have had.”
Getting an internship can seem like a daunting task, but Shatzer stresses that when the process is broken up into the following steps, it is actually very manageable.
Students should begin by researching companies that they are interested in a semester before they plan on interning. This way, they can determine which companies they would like to intern at and what is available to them. The Career Center can also help with this process and will occasionally make phone calls to businesses on behalf of students to inquire about internships.
When students have an idea of what type of internship they would like, and have identified eight to 10 companies they would like to work for, they should compose a resume and cover letter specific to the internship they are applying for. The Career Center offers workshops and individual appointments to help students prepare these important documents.
After sending the resume and cover letter to the company through e-mail, mail or fax, some employers will contact the student that same day and so they must be prepared to interview for the position. The Career Center also offers interviewing workshops to help prepare students for this often nerve-racking task.
In some cases, students are offered the internship at the interview and so they should be prepared for this and reply to the potential employer promptly. Also, Shatzer said that it is very important for students to write a thank you note to the interviewer for the opportunity to meet with them. This is not only a nice gesture, but it leaves the door open for future Pepperdine students who may wish to intern at that company.
“I would like to stress the support students can receive from the Career Center,” Shatzer said. “The faculty is also very supportive with designing a focus and direction (for the internship).”
The Washington, D.C. internship program offers Pepperdine students a special opportunity to live and work in our nation’s capital for a semester or summer session and is one way students can receive internship experience.
“I think it gives a whole new perspective that’s hard to get in a classroom,” Washington, D.C. Internship Program Director Dr. Steve Monsma said. “(The program) is good for those potentially interested in working in Washington, D.C.”
Monsma said the program typically attracts students with political science or international studies majors, but it is open to all majors and is slowly broadening to more students. Twenty Pepperdine students participated over the summer and interned in places like the White House, congressmen’s offices and the State Department.
Monsma said that most of the students that apply and meet the requirements get into the program and that there is not a ceiling for the number of students that can participate. Shatzer also said that she believes many internships throughout the country go unfilled because not enough students apply.
Senior international studies major Amie Shaw interned this summer at the State Department, for the Crisis Bureau in the Foreign Services Institution. She said that through her work researching bioterrorism and globalization and attending seminars and meetings, her interest was sparked in a career with the Foreign Service.
“I learned the inner-workings of the State Department,” Shaw said. “I learned the job and the lifestyle. … Now I can e-mail (the people she met) for advice or a recommendation.”
Gaining future business contacts is only one of the many benefits an internship offers. Students also learn directly about a career they are interested in and can discover what aspects they do and do not like.
“While I was working in the TV station (Univision), I learned that I was not interested in working in human resources,” Murata said. “It’s important to learn what you don’t like (through internships).”
While not every major requires students to complete an internship, any student may obtain one and earn academic credit for it with the general education class GS595. Along with the internship, students are given assignments and have the opportunity to share their experiences with other students.
Another option that Pepperdine students have is to intern overseas in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Several students are currently interning at places like the Fulbright Foundation and the Buenos Aires Herald.
Also, students are able to intern on campus in the Athletic department, the office of Public Relations and News and others.
Students can also participate in an internship for money or experience instead of academic credit.
Junior Tiffany Calhoun is interning at FM Rocks Production Company and works on producing reels for music video directors and setting up the production of music videos.
“This internship has allowed me to explore another avenue of the music industry,” Calhoun said. “I’ve met great contacts and had fun … I’m not getting credit for it but I’m doing it for the experience, not the credit.”
October 24, 2002
