By: Nick Santangelo

College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Dean Richard Deeg put it simply and accurately enough: "One of the reasons we're here today is to make it possible for everyone to take an internship."

Dean Deeg was speaking in Morgan Hall last Thursday for CLA's Leonard L. and Helena M. Mazur Alumni Networking Event. But that name is a bit of a misnomer. True, there was a trio of panelists, but each only spoke for a few minutes. For the majority of the event, groups of students, employers and alumni spent their time actually networking instead of just listening to others speak.

It was a sort of dry run to prepare students for Professional Development's upcoming first-ever internship fair just for CLA students on Oct. 25. By exchanging ideas and taking in face-to-face advice directly from employers who hire interns, CLA students were putting themselves in more advantageous positions to land new internships during the fair or beyond.

"If you're going to school at the College of Liberal Arts, you need an internship," said keynote speaker Erin Dwyer, CLA '16. Dwyer currently works as an associate at Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy. She got there by going "on this crazy hunt for an internship" that landed her at Philadelphia City Council. She worked closely with the Department of Political Science to get credits for that internship, which she stayed at for two and a half years.

"My course load was pretty heavy, but taking it for credit allowed me to open up time to really experience the internship," explained Dwyer.

She continued helping out at City Council even after graduating. Dwyer's willingness to be so active helped land her the role at Ceisler. One day, she asked some men in suits whom she frequently saw around City Hall who they worked for and snuck her way into a meeting with them. It turned out the men were from Ceisler. They remembered Dwyer after she graduated and found a role for her.

Make yourself indispensable when you're an intern

Being proactive, making impressions and volunteering for things not necessarily in your internship job description were topics that many students and employers at the various tables went back to again and again. One employer said having the courage to volunteer for things outside your defined role was one of the most important things for any student hoping to turn an internship into a job.

At another table, Pennsylvania Innocence Project Legal Director Nilam Sanghvi said that by voluntarily expanding their role, interns can make employers want to hang onto them after their internships end. Case in point, Sangvhi wishes she still had senior Welles Trainor even though his Pathways to Professions internship ended.

"Make yourself indispensable when you're an intern," said Sangvhi.

RISE Internship Program Manager Gianna Grossman, who's also supervised CLA interns through Pathways to Professions, agreed. "The more you reach out and offer support, people are really going to remember that," said Grossman.

Going out of your way to work on projects and tasks outside of your purview does more than just help your boss get some work done in the short term, too. It also shows the employer that you're enthusiastic. That can go a long way toward getting you hired.

"The thing that I look for when we are going through internships and interviews is enthusiasm," said Department of the Interior Regional Environmental Officer Lindy Nelson. "If there's one thing that you want to bring to an interview, even students who don't have the same level of experience, when I'm talking to people I can sense the interest and enthusiasm for wanting to work for us. For me, that's kind of the biggest thing."

Everything may not always go as expected in internships, but the opportunities students enthusiastically claim for themselves can lead to some of the best experiences. CLA student Yuheiry Rodriguez was surprised that in her internship at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia she had to do far more relationship management work with patients than expected.

Speaking of surprises, fellow student Oyinkansola Ladipo was caught off guard by just how much her CLA coursework prepared her for her internship. "Everything kind of just came together for me," she told her group, "as I saw how a lot of my classes worked together for that position."

With both of their internships now over, the students were asked what they'd tell their past selves to better prepare them for what lied ahead.

"I would tell myself to not underestimate myself," said Rodriguez.

For her part, Ladipo would tell her past self, "Just do your best. It's easy to have the credit and not do your best. So just put as much effort in as you can."

For more internship help, contact Liz Anselmo in Professional Development with any questions at liz.anselmo@temple.edu.