tance of what she can learn from students. “They teach me too, especially about social media and the e-commerce business that is so important for my company,” she said. “When I was at Union, there were no computers or email, there wasn’t even the internet. Evolving to compete in this virtual world is a constant learning process, one I’m happy to include interns in.” The educational value of interns and internships has many facets. Take the Class of 1973 Community Service Internship Endowed Fund. Established in 2008 in honor of the class’s 35th ReUnion to support a non-profit internship for one student per summer, the fund has grown to allow two students this unique experience each year. “This internship allows students to think beyond his or her self, to think of the needs of the wider world. The Class of 1973 wants Union students to be able to consider the possibility of nonprofit work as a career,” George Bain ’73 said. “And even if the nonprofit world isn’t where students end up, this experience will have reminded them that part of their responsibility as good citizens is to give back.” Since the internship’s inception, students have worked with Community Hospice of Schenectady, Educational Alliance in New York City, the Center for Community Justice in Schenectady, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, and Schools on Wheels (Mass. and Calif.), among others. According to Bain, Tatum Weishaupt ’09 wrote this of her time with Community Hospice: “The experience had a substantial impact on my perspective of becoming a physician and will certainly shape how I consider patient care. I cannot imagine a more meaningful opportunity and body of knowledge to take with me.” Weishaupt went on to receive a master’s in biomedical science from Georgetown University and George Mason University. She is coordinator of the long-term follow-up program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The variety of internships Union and its alumni are able to collaboratively offer a student is immense. These positions
are accessible through the Becker Career Center, which provides instruction on everything from resume and cover letters to interviewing and networking. At the center, students can also use national databases and the College’s exclusive database—HireU—to search for openings. While it’s difficult to quantify exactly how many individuals secure internships directly through the career center, Union students are certainly gaining the necessary early career experience. “We do a first destination survey in early May that is administered to all graduating seniors,” said Keri Willis, assistant director of internship programs. “Of the 80 to 85 percent who complete the survey, 70 percent say they have done an internship or summer research by the time they leave Union.” And this fact seems to help lead to gainful pursuits following Commencement. “Sixty-five percent of graduates find full-time employment, 30 percent head to graduate school and 5 percent elect to travel or do other things,” Soules said.
Bob Soules, director of Union’s Becker Career Center, says employers seek to convert 75 percent of their interns into full-time employees.
Alumni or parents with internship or full-time opportunities for students or experienced hires are encouraged to post opportunities with the Becker Career Center. For more information, contact Rochelle Caruso (carusor@union.edu) or visit http://www.union.edu/offices/ career/
Fall 2014 UNION COLLEGE
| 25