Salem State University Bertolon School of Business Internship Report 2023

BERTOLON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

INTERNSHIP REPORT 2023

Acknowledgements At Bertolon School of Business, we take great pride in providing innovative and experiential education to equip our business graduates with enhanced readiness and confidence to succeed. Our internship program is a cornerstone piece of this commitment. We express gratitude to our donors including Elliot ’78 and Donna ’78, ’98G Katzman, and Ralph and Janice James whose contributions enable us to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder any student from pursuing internships. Their support helps us provide students with invaluable experience in an area that aligns with their ambitions while providing compensation that bring these internships into financial reach.

2023 BSB Internship Program at a Glance

63

43% 32% of eligible students

students of color

100% 38% received

48

completed internships

completion rate

financial support

partner companies

Overwhelming positive reviews from employers and interns

Bertolon School of Business 2023 Internship Report Internship Program Updated Bertolon students are encouraged to complete at least one internship in their business concentration before they graduate. Most internships are for credit and are paid and many internships lead directly to career opportunities after a student graduates. Internships can be planned for the fall, spring, or summer.

To receive credit, students participating in an internship must work a minimum of 120 hours during a semester. Faculty advisors work with students and their site supervisor to ensure the internship is successful and the student is gaining new knowledge and skills.

In 2023, 63 students completed a credit bearing internship. 35 of the internships were in our Management and Marketing concentrations in a range of roles and organizations. 10 students completed an internship in Entrepreneurship and 12 students completed internships in Accounting and Finance.

In business, to be eligible to register for a credit bearing internship course, a student must be full-time, have earned a minimum GPA of 3.0, and received the approval of the department chair.

In 2023 we introduced a new Career Management and Professional Development course to help students with their resumes, interviewing and networking skills. Beginning in the Spring of 2025 the course will be a required prerequisite before applying for a credit bearing internship.

In partnership with Career Services, we licensed Quinncia Software to help students format and refine the content of the resumes and to practice their interviewing skills. In 2023, 207 students used the software and 155 reached silver status, the level we set as our internship readiness benchmark.

All the students reported that they had benefited from their internship and gained new knowledge and skills. Several reported that their internship led directly to a job.

Overall Student Population by Concentration (716)

Internship Population by Concentration (63)

10%

5% 22%

13%

25%

11%

9% 16%

36%

15% 30%

8%

Accounting

Entrepreneurship

Accounting

Entrepreneurship

Finance

Management

Finance

Management

Marketing

MIS/ODS

Marketing

MIS/ODS

Demographic Analysis LatinX students actively participated in internships in 2023, accounting for 22% of the internship population compared to 25% of the overall student population. Their participation rate suggests our outreach to LatinX students has been effective and it is contributing to a vibrant and diverse experiential learning community.

The internship program has also provided promising opportunities for African American students to gain professional experience with a participation rate of 10%, slightly higher than the 9% overall African American student population.

Asian students, while representing a smaller 3% participation rate, do contribute positively to the internship program. Many of our Asian students are international students. It is more challenging for them to participate in the internship program because many return to their home universities to graduate.

However, their involvement has added a valuable perspective to our growing intern alumni community.

Overall Student Population by Race (716) 6%

Internship Participation by Race (63)

5%

10%

3%

9% 22% 55%

25%

65%

Hispanic/Latino White

Hispanic/Latino White

Black/African American

Black/African American

Asian

Asia

Other

Financial Support In 2023, $35,300 in financial support was provided to students. The funds included $27,000 in stipends to cover compensation if an organization could not fund an internship and $8,300 in awards to cover student’s incremental tuition and miscellaneous expenses. The funds went to a diverse group of students. A little over half the funds went to white Intern’s Financial Support by Race students and just under a third went to LatinX students.

Providing financial support to students from diverse racial and economic backgrounds demonstrates our commitment to ensuring equal access to internship opportunities for all students.

13%

2023 Internship Financial Support Number of Students

Amount Awarded

Award

10

$ 8,300

Stipend

14

$ 27,000

Total

24

$ 35,300

4%

31% 52%

White

Hispanic/Latino

Black/African American

Asian

Student Profiles

“My internship taught me some of the management skills required to succeed in the healthcare industry.

I learned about fund raising, budgeting, and event management. I hope to continue my career in this industry where I can help families every day.”

—Danaira Moradel ’24, Management

“My internship helped me improve my professional communication and presentation skills. It also helped build my confidence and shifted my career goals from wanting something safe to looking for a more challenging and more rewarding job.

I know I have gained some of the skills necessary to succeed.”

—Jonathan Freeth ’24, Marketing “When I joined Big Sister Boston I noticed they didn’t have a TikTok page so I created the Big Sister TikTok page and content. I also hosted a pop-up event at one of their local merchant partners. I received a $1,800 compensation stipend which meant a whole lot to me since I am paying for my education. I am forever grateful for this experience and the financial support I received.” ­—Stephanie St. Jean ’24, Marketing “As an intern at Ford Credit I had the opportunity to rotate through different departments every week. I worked with two other interns on a research project for Ford ProSimple, the commercial side of Ford Credit. While working on projects I gained knowledge and skills that will help in school and my future career.”

—Kayla Pennimpede 24, Finance

Strategic Partners 48 partner companies provided internships for BSB students in 2023. 10 partner companies supported more than one student. Most of the companies were headquartered on the Northshore.

Our strategic partners included large companies like Ford Motor Credit, State Street Corporation, JP Morgan Chase, and Price Waterhouse Coopers as well as medium and small companies like Cabot Wealth Management, Eastern Bank, Groom Construction and Triumvirate Environmental. True to our mission to actively engage with and support the communities we serve, BSB interns also worked for non-profits like Leap for Education, Big Sister Boston, Haymakers for Hope and Salem Community Childcare.

We currently have 175 active strategic partners supporting our program. We are grateful to all of them for the support they provide for our students.

Internship Site-Supervisor Quotes “Stephen is very eager to learn a wide variety of marketing skills. We were looking for an intern hungry to learn, eager to collaborate, always trying one’s best, and able to take constructive feedback. He has done that.”

—Margaret Bouse, OV Loop

“Jonathan was great at taking the initiative to complete tasks outside his normal responsibilities. He is very effective at prioritization and has excellent time management skills. He also has a great attitude! Consistently friendly and a great customer-facing representative of our company.”

—Emily Lupien, Shaw Farm

“Hannah has the ability to perform work without supervision and initiative when problems arise. Would keep her as a permanent employee and promote her to manager.”

—David Bowie, Salem Spice

“Elise is extremely efficient and a very hard worker. We were thrilled to have her and wish her internship was longer!”

—Katie Lovett, North Shore Chamber of Commerce