THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE FROM ACTING PRESIDENT GERALDINE JONES
Posted on June 15, 2012
From: Acting
President Geraldine M. Jones More than 450 Cal U students
are getting an unforgettable education this summer. As interns, they are
putting their classroom learning into practice. They are building a resume, and
their own self-confidence, while “test-driving” a potential career. Most students have held jobs
before, but internships are different. Here at Cal U, an internship is an
academic course, taken for credit, supervised by a faculty member and conducted
in a real-life workplace. Our Internship
Center, located in Eberly Hall, is dedicated to assisting Cal U students in
locating an internship and preparing for the experience with workplace training
and resume development. The
Chronicle of Higher Education describes academic internships as
“three-way partnerships among an institution of higher education, the
internship site and the student.” “They have an irreplaceable
role … (in) providing hands-on learning opportunities, allowing students to
collaborate closely with faculty, and strengthening ties between the college
and the community,” the Chronicle
says. Our Cal U interns are, quite
literally, all over the map this summer. One is interning at Fox News in New
York City, where she’s learning about digital strategy and sharing her big-city
adventures on a blog.
Another found an internship in the heart of Florida’s Ocala National Forest,
the southernmost forest in the continental United States. In Washington, D.C., Cal U
students are getting an inside look at jobs in our nation’s capital.
Internships have taken them inside the Cyber
Space and Intelligence Association, the Naval Surface Warfare Center,
the Voice of America headquarters and the U.S.
Department of the Interior’s Office of Civil Rights, among other locations.
Closer to home, Cal U interns
are learning with the Pennsylvania State Police, the state Game Commission,
CONSOL Energy, the West Penn Allegheny Health System, the Southwestern
Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission and many other agencies, nonprofit
groups and businesses. One student can even be found in guest relations for the
Pittsburgh Pirates, working with the team’s mascot, the Pirate Parrot. Some internships come with
paychecks; others are made possible through the generosity of University
donors. All internships are noted on the student’s academic transcript, and
they also may be recorded on an Activities Transcript, an official University
document that can be shared with potential employers. Students from every Cal U
program of study are eligible for some type of experiential learning. Because I
believe that all students can benefit from hands-on education, I invite our
returning interns to discuss their experience with their professors, their
classmates and especially with prospective students who might be considering
Cal U. As the vision statement for the
Cal U Internship Center states, our goal is “to encourage every deserving
student in completing a quality internship, and to assist every interested
employer in placing a highly qualified intern.”
To: All students,
faculty, staff, alumni and University friends
Meet Acting President
Geraldine M. Jones
