By Amelia Kibbe
Features Editor
Not all Bonaventure students spent their summers relaxing on the lake, chatting by the campfire. Many students had internships that not only fulfilled degree requirements, but also gave them priceless hours of experience. However, this doesn’t mean they spent their summers sweating behind a desk. Rather, many Bona students had exciting internships, and the Career and Professional Readiness Center (CPRC) wants to hear about them.
This year, the CPRC will host the second annual Intern Spotlight program. The spotlight focuses on students who have had extraordinary internship experiences within the past year. This year, the CPRC will select five students to recognize.
Pam Ferman, Career Counselor and Employer Relations Coordinator, and Sara Tuman, a member of the graduate student support staff, from the CPRC explained the Intern Spotlight is a chance for students to show off the hard work they have put in.
“The way the idea came about initially was that we were hearing so many really awesome stories of students coming in our office telling us about a great internship.” Ferman said. “Often times we don’t get a chance to showcase something like this and we thought it would be a great marketing piece.”
Ferman added the intern spotlight was a way of showing what current Bonaventure students are capable of accomplishing. All undergraduate students are able to apply as long as the internship happened within the last year.
“This does more than just promote the cool internships to other students,” Ferman said. “It also says to current Bonaventure students ‘Hey, did you know that with a degree from St. Bonaventure or studying here at St. Bonaventure, you can do these really cool things?’ So it’s kind of two-fold.”
This year, the CPRC will select another five (possibly six) winners. Each winner will have his or her photograph on the Intern Wall of Fame outside the CPRC office. Winners will also receive a $50 gift card to a store of choice – as long as the store sells business and professional clothing.
“The winner this year will also be recognized at the internship summit in October,” Tuman said. “They get the chance to talk about their experiences.”
Ferman explained each student applicant is scored using a rubric that was developed last year. To enter the contest, students must complete an application that asks questions such as whether the internship was paid and what professional skills were gained.
Applicants have two weeks to complete the form. The form must be returned to the CPRC office by Friday, September 19. Winners are selected the following week. Tuman explained there are two ways to obtain an application.
“You can pick one up here in the office,” Sara explained. “But this year we also have an online one on the CPRC website.”
Ferman said the opportunity is open to all undergraduates.
“One of the things we want to make sure of is that there is some sort of validity to their experience. By that I mean as part of the application process they should have an internship coordinator sign off.”
Ferman concluded by saying the intern spotlight is a great way to highlight the many talents of Bonaventure students.
“It means people are doing great things here,” Ferman said. “We want to highlight that. Let’s talk about it.”
