University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 19, Feb. 13, 1997
Perfect fit: Internships benefit students and employers

     Like taking a test drive before buying a new car, many UD
students are finding it beneficial to try out their future
careers by gaining experience through internships.
     Internships are a perfect way to learn by doing. According
to Jack Townsend, career services, each year, approximately 750
UD students pursue experiences in real-world work settings to
figure out a career direction, learn about a field of interest,
apply classroom theory, develop skills, network or perform a
service to the community.
     For employers, Townsend said, interns are a source of
inexpensive help and a pool for future recruitment. It is a win-
win situation for students and employers alike.
      The 1995 EQW National Employer Survey indicates that new
graduates who have internships on their resumes are given more
interviews, field more job offers and are offered higher salaries
than their peers who lack relevant experience.
     Townsend pointed out that many organizations are choosing
their permanent hires from their summer interns. "Many companies
are putting increased emphasis on hiring the best possible
candidates for their summer positions because they view these
students as potential recruits for full-time jobs after
graduation. Career Services Center staff are committed to giving
UD students the information they need to add internships to their
regular academic programs."
     Read Aloud Delaware's New Castle County director, Karen
Wilner-a former intern herself-said interns and volunteers are
critical to the success of her organization.
     "Our mission is raising the rate of literacy among children
and adults," she said. "Thirty student volunteers who enjoy
children are active in our program. We couldn't meet the
community's needs without them. At the same time, our student
volunteers meet some of their own needs by finding out what a
teaching career might be like."
     One of Read Aloud Delaware's "readers" is Hope Levy, a
junior psychology major. "I volunteered because I love kids and
want to work with them in my future career," Levy said. The
Olney, Md., resident is assigned to work one-on-one with 5- year-
olds at the Mother Hubbard Day Care Center.
     Many students find their internships by looking through the
Field Experience Notebooks located in the Career Resource Center.
According to career services staff, the lists provide
opportunities with more than 300 local organizations-such as
Easter Seals, the American Heart Association, Ashland Nature
Preserve, Delaware Theater Company, BloodBank of Delaware, Dean
Witter and MBNA America N.A.
     Students select sites of interest and call the contact name
to arrange an interview. By March, Steve Sciscione, career
services, said, local internship opportunities should be
available on the World Wide Web by clicking on the Career
Services Center's homepage at http://www.udel.edu/CSC/career.html
     For those who want to locate internships outside of the
state of Delaware or overseas, 15 directories of national and
international internships are in the Career Resource Center. A
new monthly publication, Intern America, offers additional up-to-
date listings.
     "Students from all majors are consistently successful in
locating relevant and interesting internships at our office by
reading through the Field Experience Notebooks, or taking
advantage of some of the other resources we have in the career
library," Sciscione said. He also is one of the instructors of
"Experiential Education," a course that provides academic credit
for internships.
     According to Lynn Jacobson, career services, special
internship/summer jobs programs designed for engineering,
accounting and computer science majors attract well-known
companies such as DuPont, Delmarva Power, W.L Gore, Merck,
Anderson Consulting and several major accounting firms. Junior-
year students in these three majors who are interested in summer
positions can submit their resumes at the front desk at Career
Services.
     For further information, contact Jacobson at 831-8138.
                                             -Marianne E. Green