By Amelia Kibbe
Features Editor
The Career and Professional Readiness Center (CPRC) announced the five winners of its Intern Spotlight competition on Sept. 26 and will host an Internship Summit event on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Doyle Dining Hall. The event will feature a keynote presentation, recognize the winners of the Intern Spotlight competition and provide networking resources for participants.
Three weeks ago, the CPRC announced Emma Zaremba, Sebastian Bellm, Jason Damon, Colleen Guilfoyle and Stephanie Jenkins as this year’s winners of the contest. The students will receive awards and recognition in addition to speaking to attendees about their internship experiences.
According to Pam Ferman, career counselor and employer relations coordinator for the CPRC, all students are encouraged and welcome to attend.
“All students are invited to attend,” Ferman said. “We prefer they are dressed in business-casual attire. After the keynote presentation, there will be a kind of networking event in the dining hall with food. Students can meet with internship coordinators and our intern spotlight winners. We really want them to get information on where they can intern, how they can intern and requirements for internships.”
The program will begin with a keynote address by Joe Franzetti, ‘99. Franzetti is employed by Barnett Associates, a consulting business based in New York City. According to the company’s website, Barnett Associates is the top recognized consultant in state unemployment tax consulting, claims management and verification of employment services.
Ferman said Franzetti’s speech will focus on how his career path was launched from his studies at St. Bonaventure.
“[Franzetti] will talk about finding your passion and how a St. Bonaventure education launched a career and encouraged a passion,” Ferman said. “What is unique about Fraanzetti is that he found his position through Paul Barnett, also an alum, and connected with him. He also travels each year to South America and visits various countries with his dad and they create a calendar of images. All the proceeds go towards a leprosy hospital in South America. It a great piece to combine the business world, like Barnett Associates, and the non-profit organizations.”
Along with the recognition and presentations, the CPRC will launch its online career management system at the summit. The system, called BonaLink, will feature all the CPRC’s information about internship opportunities and job opportunities from local businesses and alumni.
“This is an all-new program,” Ferman said. “We have been building it for the past few months and it has a lot of great opportunities for students.”
Preregistration for the event is open and ends on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Although preregistration is not required, all students who preregister are entered in a drawing for a Galaxy 7 Tablet. Students must be present to win. To register, students are asked to send an email with their name to CAREER@sbu.edu.
When asked about the overall purpose of the event, Ferman said it was an opportunity for students to realize the benefit of a St. Bonaventure education.
“This encourages a bunch of students to embrace various opportunities and think about the resources they have to obtain really great internships,” Ferman said. “It shows that students can combine their professional career and their passions.”
