THE VALUE OF INTERNSHIPS

NETWORKING Brit by Brit

When alumni provide internships to current students, the goal of creating important connections and a valuable overall experience enters a whole new dimension.

By Erin Peterson

Emily Eggenberger, ’21, thought she might want to pursue a career in politics when she first arrived at Albion. By her sophomore year, that vague notion had sharpened into focus: she wanted to be a lobbyist.

Yes, she knows what you’re thinking. “People always give me weird looks when I say I want to be a lobbyist,” she said with a laugh. “But lobbyists help give people a voice in government. They’re essential to the policymaking process.”

One person who did understand Eggenberger’s interest in the field was Tim Ward, ’86, president of the lobbying firm Michigan Legislative Consultants (MLC). The two met as part of a field trip coordinated through the College’s Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service.

When Eggenberger applied for a role at MLC, which she describes as her “dream internship,” Ward was thrilled to bring her onto the team, where she could get a much deeper understanding of what lobbying looked like on a day-to-day basis. “We build really substantive internship experiences,” Ward said of the firm’s support for student interns. “We’re asking them to do things that, without an intern, we would be having our lobbyists do.”

In the fall of 2019, Eggenberger spent more than four months with the organization doing research, sitting in on client meetings and even meeting with legislators during events. “It made me even more excited to be a part of [the field],” she says.

Many students do internships as part of their time at Albion, but internships led or facilitated by Briton alumni offer particularly memorable and meaningful experiences. That extra layer of connection can help turn a good experience into a life-changing one. “We love internship experiences with alumni,” said Troy Kase, director of Albion’s Career and Internship Center. “They help students discover their passions. They give alumni a chance to give back and work with students who are potentially full-time hires.”

Emily Eggenberger, ’21, and Tim Ward, ’86, inside the chamber of the Michigan House of Representatives. Eggenberger’s internship at Michigan Legislative Consultants put her on a Lansing fast-track. Terrah Opferman, ’04 (holding pennant), brought in (from left) Carrigan Theisen, ’19, Ben Kolanowski, ’17, and Alec Palmer, ’20, as JPMorgan Chase interns. All are now JPMorgan Chase full-time employees.

‘She saw a little bit of herself in me.’

Alec Palmer, ’20, left nothing to chance at Albion. In just three and a half years, he completed a finance major, a communication studies minor and a concentration through the Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management. He worked tirelessly with his professors to hone his interviewing skills and land a prestigious internship with JPMorgan Chase.

Still, he admits that going from the relatively small and tight-knit Albion campus to a sprawling Fortune 500 corporation had its share of challenges. That was one reason he was glad to be able to lean on a fellow Briton, Terrah Opferman, ’04, managing director and region manager for Michigan middle market banking. “Having an alumni perspective was really valuable,” Palmer said. “Albion alumni are really willing to engage with students.”

The internship, paired with Opferman’s insight, paid off. Palmer now has a full-time job as an analyst for JPMorgan Chase. He has even found a tiny Albion oasis at the company: He currently works with a halfdozen other alumni as part of his 50-person office and often wears an Albion face mask in the building. “People will see me and say, ‘Go Brits!’” he said.