ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS

Similarly, Carrigan Theisen, ’19, a commercial banking analyst in the JPMorgan Chase rotational analyst program, said the connection she developed with Opferman as an intern for the company was an important way for her to see the possibilities within a field that has a significantly higher percentage of male employees. ”Working with women in banking, as an intern and in my career at the bank, has been so helpful for me to gain confidence and understand that this is where I am supposed to be,” she said. “Through mentorship and visibility of strong female bankers, I am able to show up every day being authentically myself, pursue a career in something that I am passionate about and have confidence that I’ll be able to continue my growth with the company.”

In some cases, internships lead to bonds that last well beyond the experience itself. In 2018, Noah Robertson, ’21, landed an internship with Dr. Larry Schook, ’72, former vice president for research at the University of Illinois.

As part of his work, Robertson wrote a research paper about transgenic porcine models—pigs with human genes—that make it possible to study human cancers in pigs. Robertson was fascinated by the work and adds that his connection with Schook wasn’t bound by a workday clock. “Sometimes he’d have me over for dinner. And, every Tuesday, we would drive from Chicago, where he had one set of labs, to Urbana, where his other labs were,” he recalls. “I consider him a good friend.”

The work Robertson did with Schook opened up new opportunities for him later. He pursued further studies linked to a specific PD-1 inhibitor — part of a promising group of anticancer drugs. He wrote his honors thesis about it and made sure to give one of the hardbound copies to Schook.

‘Students really want to contribute.’

For students, the benefits of working with Albion alumni for an internship are clear: they get to test out career pathways in a structured way, often with the possibility of a job at the end. For the alumni providing the internships, working with the College and with students offers its own unique rewards.

Schook, for example, has been able to offer internships for many Albion students in his labs in Chicago and Urbana. While student interns are often working with more experienced people, including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, he says they bring energy and enthusiasm that benefits the entire group. “They’re very smart and focused on learning — and they don’t care how long they have to be in the lab, because they really want to contribute to the team,” he said.

Schook also loves being able to help widen the sense of possibility for students. He knows that many arrive at Albion wanting to pursue a science-based career but may only consider a narrow range of options, such as doctors and dentists. But, for some students, a career in research, a path typically less familiar to undergraduates, might be an even better fit for their interests. “Having the opportunity to experience other things is critical,” he said.

Opferman, the JPMorgan Chase director, echoes that sentiment, noting that she grew up in a small town and didn’t have a sense of corporate finance as a career when she arrived at Albion. She also understands how she can use her experience to help create possibilities for more women in the field. “There’s a whole mindset that ‘you need to see her to be her,’” she says. “Albion [helped me] see what options were available to me when I was a student, and, if I can do that for students today, I view that as a great way to give back to an institution that gave so much to me.”

For several years, Tina Yost Johnson, ’95, a circuit court judge in Calhoun County, has welcomed interns to assist her in public engagement. The arrangement has been a valuable way for her to move faster on many of her top priorities — while helping the students she works with pursue a project they’re passionate about. “I work on a lot of different committees, and the legwork that students do has the ability to make a lasting impact on the community,” she said. “Do I have time to contact all of the people, make charts and do analysis on every project? I don’t. When I’m working with interns, they can participate in a valuable experience while getting guidance from people who have years of experience in an area.”

Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Tina Yost Johnson, ’95 (left), with Tori Conklin, ’22. Together, they have continued a successful internship connection for the College.

Even more than that, she said, is her own sense of duty to give back to a school that opened up the world to her. “Albion’s not just a college: it’s a community. In any community, you get what you give,” she said. “I feel that it’s my responsibility to mentor students and give back because it helps continue the cycle of bettering both the community and the College. That’s our obligation as citizens.”

Finding the right fit

As Albion seeks out more alumni who can offer internships to students, the College is also taking great care to ensure that internship advisors and their student interns are a perfect match. Program directors for the Gerstacker Institute and the Ford Institute, for example, get to know students and alumni in related fields well and can help direct students to opportunities that are likely to be a perfect fit.

Tim Ward said he’s been a beneficiary of this process. He wears many hats in his small, 11-person lobbying firm and relies heavily on Eddie Visco, director of the Ford Institute, to help identify a small handful of good students for him to consider for roles. The success rate so far has been unbeatable. “I’ve never had a bad intern,” Ward said.

Even better, as he’s learned what helps students be successful, he can communicate that to Visco and to Albion to streamline the process further.

Alumni who offer consistent internship opportunities to students over time typically see the greatest benefits, since the College can help promote the opportunities and identify strong candidates, said Kase. “We strive to create recurring opportunities. It’s an excellent way for Albion alumni to give back to their alma mater while providing an opportunity for both interns and alumni to participate in an extended interview.”

Students who do internships with Albion alumni often have an edge as they enter into the workforce after graduation. A case in point is Eggenberger, who didn’t just excel in her internship with Ward — she’s now rocketing through the political world in a full-time role. After graduation, she landed a role as a legislative director for Representative Karen Whitsett in the State House of Representatives. Thanks to her experience with MLC, she was able to bypass an entry-level “front desk” role in the office—typically handling casework and doing district events, for example—and instead land a “back desk” role, which focuses more on policy advising and helping representatives work bills through the legislative process.

While Eggenberger said the leap felt overwhelming at first, she has been able to navigate the transition effectively in part because of the network she built through her internship with Ward. “I already have connections with all the lobbyists at MLC, and whenever one of their clients is a stakeholder on a bill, it’s easy for me to reach out to get the scoop on what’s going on. Those connections have been so valuable.”

For Ward, seeing former interns succeed is a joy. And for Eggenberger, who sees a wide open path ahead of her, the internship has brought a confidence and a sense of possibility that would have been difficult to achieve any other way. “I could go on and on about having an internship,” she said. “It was such a great experience for me, and I’d do it again, a thousand times over.”

Erin Peterson is a freelance writer based in Minneapolis.

› Interested in learning more about offering

an internship to Albion students? Contact the College’s Career and Internship Center at 517-629-0332 or careers@albion.edu for more information.

What They’re Saying

On an internship as an extended job interview:

“For me, an internship was about building a full-time career. The fact that I’m still with the same team that I interned with as a student — but it’s my full-time role now — speaks to the strength of the program.” –Ben Kolanowski, ’17, an associate banker with JPMorgan Chase, was introduced to the internship opportunity, in part, by Executive Terrah Opferman, ’04.

On support that lasts beyond the internship:

“Tim [Ward] was more than just a supervisor; he’s been a mentor. I talk to him all the time, I ask him questions — and he has encouraged me, if I ever need career help or have questions, to keep that dialogue open.” –Latrell Crenshaw, ’21, who interned with Tim Ward, ’86, at Michigan Legislative Consultants, is now a business development specialist in the neighborhood investment unit for the city of San Diego’s Economic Development Department.

On the value of internships in forging a career path:

“It was definitely an honor being able to work with Judge Yost Johnson. I know I can reach out to her, talk to her and even get a recommendation from her for law school.” –Tori Conklin, ’22, who interned with Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Tina Yost Johnson, ’95, is a sociology major with a philosophy minor.