Mostly freshmen gathered Tuesday evening for a student panel that focused on internships: which ones are available, how to search for them and how to fund them. The event was one of several events scheduled for the First Year Internship Week.
Laura Sheinkopf '07, a Spanish and geography double major, explained the steps she took to fund her internship at the Institute for Human Development and Pro-Habitat in Bolivia.
"I had worked through Tucker and knew that they had fellowships for interning abroad," Sheinkopf said. "I found the position online, and applied simultaneously for Tucker funding."
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major Allison Gathany '07 spoke about finding an internship at the Global Volunteers Organization.
"I wanted to do something in Africa," Gathany said. "I did a lot of internet searches and just started calling groups."
Film and television studies major Evan Michals '07 talked about his time at the Lone Wolf Documentary Group.
"I learned a lot more working at a smaller company," Michals said. "I became good friends with many employees and gained more experience."
Nedko Kyuchukov '07, an economics and government double major, urged students to intern before deciding on a career.
"After three months of investment banking, I found out it's something I enjoy," Kyuchukov said. "You have to find out that it's something you're interested in from a summer internship."
In choosing panel members, Career Services intended to represent students with different interests and backgrounds, according to Christina Ramos, the office's outreach marketing coordinator. The student internship panel was part of Dartmouth's third annual First Year Internship Week, a program organized by Career Services and the Office of Residential Life.
"We are trying to help students understand their options," Ramos said. "We hope students will think strategically about how to make themselves competitive candidates for internships based on advice from students who have already gone through this process."
Other events planned for the First Year Internship Week include first-time user tours of the Career Services office, a Women in Science Program internship panel and sessions on the U.S. State Department, intervieweing, networking and international jobs.
"Sometimes I hear from upperclassmen that say they wish they had started earlier," Ramos said. "I recommend that students go this week, even if they're not sure what they want to do, just so that they have the facts for later on."
Yang Lu '10, who attended Tuesday night's discussion in Collis Commonground, found the panel helpful.
"I don't know what exactly I want to do," Lu said. "It was really meaningful to hear what the panelists did, how they found those opportunities and what they got out of them."
