uafortsmith.edu/careerservices A Link Between Area Businesses and the University
Inside Student Testimonials Page 2 ________________ Students Benefit from Rheem Partnership Page 3 ________________
Education Works
| Spring 2011
Internships Play Important Role in Strategic Plan
Criminal Justice Department Connecting Students with Regional Agencies Page 3 ________________ Calendar of Events Page 4 ________________ Forehand Joins Career Services Page 4
Chancellor Paul B. Beran, Ph.D. meets with Ichiro Fukue, Senior Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd regarding the new Mitsubishi plant in Fort Smith.
Just before the start of the fall semester, Dr. Paul Beran, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, introduced an extensive strategic plan, outlining the university’s vision and initiatives for the next five years. One of the plan’s “pillar” points is the university’s desire to “Maximize citizenship and real-world work application experiences,” a goal supported by the Career Services office in providing relevant and challenging internship opportunities for our students. When you examine the educational experience at UA Fort Smith, you find that many of our students’ successes come from an ability to make a smooth transition from the classroom to the workforce, with internships often playing an important role in the process. There will be an even greater emphasis at UA Fort Smith in developing and promoting new internship opportunities. With that knowledge in hand, the university is moving towards an increase in programs that encourage or require “real-world experiences” such as internships for college credit or paid positions with companies in the local marketplace. Developing and promoting these new internship opportunities is an exciting endeavor. “The student internship process is invaluable for success, which is one reason we place such emphasis on that experience,” Dr. Beran explains. “Connecting education with careers is our vision statement for a reason. There’s no substitute for making professional connections and shaping an education with the tools you learn in an internship environment.”
Ideally, as much as 50% of the student body graduating from the university will have had some sort of outside work experience in their field of choice. Historically for students in education or health science programs, the internship is a calculated part of the degree program. However, as the benefits of students’ field experiences become more evident, we see majors that haven’t traditionally required internships exploring how to utilize them. Currently at UA Fort Smith new internship opportunities are being explored in the areas of media communications, organizational leadership, and biology. Even with many of these areas being new to the concept of student internships, it has not been difficult to find interest both within the community and within the student population. Monique Forehand, the university’s Career Services Coordinator, is very enthusiastic about the number of internships that are currently being utilized and about the support that this important process is being given by the Chancellor and the new strategic plan. “The support from the university’s faculty and from the community is phenomenal. It deepens the educational experience and gives so much back to the local workforce in terms of exceptional employees, both before and after graduation.” For more information on the university’s internship and student work programs, please contact Career Services at 479-788-7017 or uafortsmith.edu/careerservices.