Learn to Intern
by Dannia Jadan, Spectrum Newspaper
Student Panelists: Gillian Cunningham ’24, Jackson Tse ’23, Sophia Kostiw ’23 (moderator), Kailey Marottolo ’23, Theresa Ellison ’23
“Once you have confidence in yourself, people around you are going to feel that confidence, and they are going to have confidence in you to be able to do your job,” said Theresa Ellison, a senior at Sacred Heart University.
Ellison shared her internship journey with the Sacred Heart community at the “Learn to Intern Colloquium” on Nov. 2 at the Naclerio Commons auditorium. At this event, she shared her past experiences and how she got to where she is now. Ellison had a remote internship this past summer and was then offered a full-time job in Texas at Dell Technologies Inc.
The Learn to Intern Colloquium gave Sacred Heart students an opportunity to listen to other student perspectives on their internship journey.
The Center of Career and Professional Development office chose to have student speakers so that the event could give the audience a bigger insight of what the internship process looks like.
The Center said that this was the first internship event they have had, which has launched an array of ideas that can help highlight more students’ successes and offer guidance to new students going through the process of looking for internships.
“We hope that this motivates students to see someone who is in their shoes and see how successful they are. I’d hope they use this as motivation to apply to their own internships,” said Keith Hassell, Executive Director of the Center of Career and Professional Development.
Senior Jackson Tse, another student speaker at the colloquium, said that he utilized a lot of the resources that Scared Heart provides to feel prepared for his internships. He said that being involved as a Student Ambassador and a Welch mentor has contributed to his leadership skills.
Tse suggested for students to apply to a variety of internships and to make sure to always ask questions even though it may seem difficult or scary.
“Keep going at it, and keep your eye set on the horizon,” said Tse.
Senior Kailey Marottolo was not sure what career path she wanted to take in the beginning of her journey. She kept an open mind to everything and tried many career paths, figuring out what she liked and disliked. Marottolo said that finding connections and opening yourself to new opportunities is a crucial step in finding an internship.
“You are your best advocate, and you never know if you talk to your friend’s cousin or something, they could have the coolest job experience that they could connect you to,” said Marottolo.
Ellison also provided her biggest takeaways she has learned from her internship experiences.
“When people criticize you, they want you to do your best because they know you have potential,” said Ellison.
Ellison said she used the platform Handshake, as well as Wayup, where she found her internship at Dell Technologies Inc.
Some platforms students at SHU use are Handshake, LinkedIn and Wayup. The student speakers said that they used these platforms to gain familiarity with new internships and discover new job opportunities. They added that these platforms greatly helped them with the internship process.
You can follow the Center of Career and Professional Development on Instagram @shucareerdev for details on other upcoming events.
To read this and all other student written articles, visit: The Spectrum Newspaper
