While many Oles spent their Interims gallivanting around the globe, on campus in a classroom, or just doing nothing, 80 St. Olaf students took the opportunity to complete an internship during the month.
Maddi Frick ’12 was one such student. Frick, who is a media studies concentrator, has always been interested in radio (she and a friend, Molly Hess ‘12, co-host a show on KSTO called “Frick ‘n Hess”) She was interested in applying to intern for KAXE, Northern Community Radio in Grand Rapids, Minn., this summer. But when did not get in to her first choice class for Interim, she began to consider interning at the station during January, with the possibility of having a full-time job in the summer.
“I was interested in this specific internship because I saw it as a stepping stone to interning at MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) and then the ultimate internship experience for me at ‘This American Life,’” Frick said. “I knew I loved media, music and culture, but I didn’t know how it all fit together. This internship definitely helped me fine tune my life goals and gave me new ideas and connections to pursue these dreams.”
While Frick found the path to her internship on her own, the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL) provides many students with opportunities to search for and assistance in applying to internships.
“The CEL offers resources through its website, which is extensive,” Kay Blassingame, CEL program assistant, said. “It provides postings as well as lists of sites where students have done internships before. We also help students create resumes, cover letters or essays that may be required, and students can practice interviewing by setting up a session for doing so.”
Blassingame said that while it is up to the individual student to find internships they want to apply for, the CEL does have an e-mail alias as well as posts on Ole Recruiting, which is accessible through the St. Olaf website.
Allison Johnson ’12 served as an intern at the Professional Drive Dental Group in downtown Northfield. While there, she learned from three dentists, five hygienists, four dental assistance, two general assistants and three business managers. Johnson became interested in the idea of doing an internship after it was suggested to her by a professor and through some friends in the St. Olaf Pre-Dental Club.
Johnson did work with the CEL program in order to create a more personalized experience. “As part of the CEL program, I created a research side to my internship which involved studying children and the reasons they experience anxiety in the office … also, as a final project, I wrote a children’s book on going to the dentist and getting a cavity filled,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Frick spent over 30 hours per week at her internship with KAXE, which she feels was an invaluable experience.
“What I learned while at KAXE, I feel, is more tangible than what I could have learned while taking a class at St. Olaf,” Frick said. “I feel very confident in what I could bring to a radio station now; what I learned in class is also very helpful, but usually lacks direct application to the real world.”
Johnson agreed with Frick.
“Being with the people doing the job I want to do made all the difference and cemented my desire to be a dentist…I would recommend doing an internship to anyone remotely interested in a career such as dentistry,” Johnson said.
“Help is available for anyone who is interested in finding internships. Take advantage of our walk in hours (weekdays from 9-5) to meet with someone who can get you started in your search,” Blassingame said in an e-mail.
The CEL website also offers numerous tools for students in the hunt for a summer, Interim, or semester-long internship, just as students who’ve completed internships can also act as useful resources.
skaggs@stolaf.edu
Be the first to comment on this article!