27 Internships: Working For It This Summer

Internships: Working For It This

Summer By: Alex Mielcarz Staff Writer

Summer is quickly approaching, and with it, tons of new opportunities for students here at the University of St. Francis (USF). Many students will look towards the city and to bigger suburbs such as Naperville for internships and jobs, while others will find opportunities right here in Joliet.

Internships provide a lot of positives to students. They serve as great resume boosters for those graduating in the coming years, and they provide networking opportunities for students to use later in their lives, especially when searching for their first job out of school.

One of those students is Cole Kampmier. He will be working for Sikich LLP in Naperville, Illinois as an audit intern. He took advantage of resources here on campus to help secure the position.

“I attended a career fair here at USF,” Kampmier said. “[After] that initial interview I was ultimately offered a position for this summer.”

Kampmier networked at the career fair, and he is hopeful that it will pay off down the road.

“Due to the recent job climate and companies having a hard time finding good employees, I’ve been told by several people that a good internship like this almost always turns into a fulltime job offer,” Kampmier said.

That is exactly what Kampmier wants. He is hoping to use this internship as a springboard into his professional career once he graduates.

“Hopefully this will get me my first full-time job and open the doors for the rest of my professional life,” Kampmier said.

Spring boarding from an internship to a full-time job is quite common. It is a strategy that many exploit as they approach graduation. It is an opportunity that Kampmier relishes.

“I’m super excited to see where this opportunity takes me,” Kampmier said. “I want to see how accounting is in the real world — not just in textbooks.”

Real world applications are a huge part of internships. When you look for one, you should find internships in fields that not only interest you, but will have real world applications once you leave college. Essentially, you are looking for a resume boost.

There are opportunities for students on campus, as well. Jen Vazquez is taking part in the summer undergraduate research program here on campus. She will be researching the evolutionary relationship of venom genes in L. heterotoma through gene annotation.

Vazquez is looking forward to her opportunity to work on campus this summer, and, similarly to Kampmier, how it may set her up in the future.

“This will make my resume look good for medical school,” Vazquez said. “It will also give me experience on research projects.”

While this may not be the best networking opportunity, it serves as a great professional opportunity. Participation in a program such as this will give Vazquez's resume a large advantage in the coming years as she gets ready to apply for medical schools once she finishes her undergraduate degree.

Not only is this a great professional opportunity for Vazquez, but it also serves as an opportunity to dig deeper into a personal interest.

“I’m very excited to do this,” Vazquez said. “Looking at evolutionary relationships between species has always been an interest of mine.”

Doing something that interests you makes the work that much easier and enjoyable. When you look forward to coming in to work every day, you are going to be more productive and helpful for everyone involved.

There are plenty of students that are still looking for internships, or they do not know where to start. Many students look to the Career Success Center to help form resumes and find internships. More information on the career counseling services offered by the Career Success Center can be found by visiting www.stfrancis.edu/career-success-center/.

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