NEWS 1
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 107, NO. 08 ● SINCE 1908
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016
Career fairs just one way USC promotes internships Emily Grace Mewborne @EMI_LOO
Courtesy of The State
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin highlighted development in his 2016 State of the City address.
Mayor addresses flood, growth in State of the City Emily Barber @EMILYRISA
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin detailed several of t he ways in wh ich Columbia has improved in the five and a half years he has been mayor in his 2016 State of the Cit y address Tuesday evening. W hen he took o v e r i n Ju l y 2 010 , t h e u nemploy ment rate was around 9.5 percent, he said. Now, it has dropped to 4.9 percent. Nearly 50,000 jobs have been created across the state, and over 11,000 o f t h o s e a r e c u r r e nt l y available. According to Benjamin, the cit y of Columbia has invested over $12 million in new funding for public safety in the past year, and over 40 percent of police officers hired last year come from minority groups. He plans for Columbia to be
t he f irst pol ice force i n South Carolina that will b e f u l ly equ ipp ed w it h body-cams. Benjamin then dedicated several minutes to talking about the devastating flood i n O c tob er. He rec ited some of t he shock ing statistics: 16 inches of rain fell on Forest Drive in the f irst day, over 500 roads were closed due to damage and 45 dams in t he area failed. “I was out t here ever y day in the neighborhoods si mply wa shed away by rushing waters,” Benjamin said. “A disaster like that ca n bring out t he worst in people ... But here in Columbia, South Carolina, something amazing happened.” He recognized t he emergenc y respondent s, utilit y and rescue workers and hospital staff who worked t i relessly
throughout the disaster. He acknowledged the National Guard and the volunteers who dedicated themselves to helping those who had been devastated. “I saw a world-class city become a cit y of heroes, a nd I wa nt to t a ke t h is mome nt t o s ay ‘ T h a n k you,’” Benjamin said. The tone of the speech turned hopeful as Benjamin went on to describe t he aftermath of the f lood as a t ime to “t u r n disaster i nto oppor t u n it y a nd innovation.” This is a time to rebuild infrastructure to be more pede st r ia nand bike-friendly and to beautif y major roads into and within the city, he said. B e n j a m i n i nt e n d s t o e s t abl i s h nonprof it s i n partnership with the private sector to expand housing options for veterans, the SEEMAYORPAGE2
The USC Career Center will hold the S.E.T. Fair and the Career Fest at the Columbia Met rop ol it a n C onve nt ion Center on Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. At the event, st udent s w ill have t he opportunity to meet potential employers and discuss intern, co-op or full-time positions. The S.E.T. Fair will focus on st udents in t he science, engineering and technolog y fields, while the Career Fest will have employers for a wide variet y of majors and career paths. USC of f er s m a ny ot her resources besides this event to help students find internships t hat a re per fec t for t hem. K at ie W h ite, t he Prog ram Coordinator for Experiential E ducat ion at t he Ca reer Center, work s closely w it h students looking for internships and recognizes the value of internship experience in future job hunts. “I nter nsh ips a nd co - ops are vital for college student resumes,” White said. “Many employers will not consider students without at least two internships or co-ops on their resume upon graduation.” Internships prove a valuable addition to resumes and can be what makes or break s a student’s future with a certain company. They can dictate not only job acceptances, but also other important aspects of a student’s future career. “St udents who have completed an internship or coop are statistically more likely to receive a f ull-t ime of fer faster than those who haven’t,” W h ite sa id, “a nd a re a l so more likely to receive a higher starting salary than those who haven’t held an internship or co-op position.” Students who are interested i n f i nd i ng i nter n sh ips a re encouraged to make an appointment with White or one of her Career Center coworkers
at their offices on the fifth floor of the Thomas Cooper Library. “The USC Career Center has a n ex perient ial education team that focuses solely on internships and coop oppor t u n it ie s for USC students,” White said. On top of face-to -face app oi nt ment s , t he Ca reer Center also offers several online and out-of-building resources for finding jobs and internships. According to White, some of the tools available to students include: JobMate, the Career Center’s on l i ne i nteg rated job search resource center; Career Shift, an internship and job search tool that students ca n access for f ree v ia t he Career Center website; and t he oppor t u n it y to at tend the Career Center’s job fairs, such as the S.E.T. Fair and the Career Fest, that occur each semester. St u d e nt s w i l l f i n d t h at internship experience is more than just a perk on a resume. W hile they allow employers to see that the student is well rou nded a nd ex p er ienced, internships also help students with their own personal career choices. “In addition to the benefits of having these positions on a resume, internships allow st udent s t he cha nce to t r y out different industries and orga n izat ions to see if it’s the right fit before applying to f ull-t ime posit ions af ter graduation,” White said. Jourdan Simpson, a fourthyear public relations student, k nows the many benefits of internship experience. “My internship experience has helped me narrow down my interest,” Simpson said. “Like most college students, I had no idea what I wanted to do, and internships gave me perspective on what I enjoyed a nd event ua l ly what I was passionate about.” See the rest at dailygamecock.com
Clinton, Trump maintain SC leads Despite recent headlines about shifting momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire, both Democratic and Republican frontr u n ners H illar y Clinton and Donald Trump still show comfortable leads in the upcoming South Carolina primaries. According to t h e m o s t r e c e nt state polling nu mbers f rom RealClearPolitics, Clinton maintains a 33-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders. In comparison, Clinton is ahead of Sanders by just 0.6 points in Iowa and is losing to Sanders in +14.7% New Hampshire by 14.7 points.
+33%
+.6%
S.C.
IOWA
On t he Republican side in Sout h Carolina, Trump is ahead by 16.5 points and he is followed most closely by Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump’s lead over Cruz is just 5.7 points in Iowa, though he is ahead of Cruz by 19.7 points in New Hampshire. The South Carolina Republican primary will be held on Feb. 20, and the South Carolina Democratic primary will be held on Feb. 27. Both are open primaries.
—Compiled by Mary Ramsey
+19.7% +16.5%
+5.7%
N.H.
Courtesy of MCT Campus
IOWA
S.C.
N.H.