At a time when employers are increasingly looking for job applicants with relevant experience, the College's Career Development Center is increasingly looking for alumni who can provide internships to Union students.
Janet Mattis, assistant director of the center, says that more and more students are coming to the center earlier in their years at Union, looking for internships.
“There's no question that having relevant experience is more and more important both to employers and students,” she says. “And internships are not just a summer experience anymore, either. Many students work on internships over the six-week winter break, and many local companies are looking for part-time interns during the academic year.”
Mattis says that a number of alumni have already come forward with internships for Union students.
Rob Quish '83, president of Lowe Lintas, an advertising agency in New York City, hired four students last summer, and Robin Florio, the company's benefits and payroll supervisor, said the four were “exceptional, very well presented, a joy.” (Kristen Peterson '91, a senior planner at the agency, served as mentor for the internship program.)
One Lowe Lintas intern reports that her time at the agency was “challenging, a little scary, and more than I could have foreseen. There is so much thought, energy, and labor which supports the creation of an advertisement, and these have given me a new perspective.”
Another student said the internship helped her reshape her future goals. “My supervisor always asked me to go to status meetings, local photo shoots, or anything that she thought might enrich my experience here. She just wanted me to be exposed to as many things as possible, and I am so thankful for her guidance.”
Other alumni who helped set up internships recently include Ron Kinghorn '90, who works in the IT division of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Patrick Haskell '94, who works for Credit Suisse First Boston.
More than 1,200 alumni are volunteers in the Union Career Advisory Network, and Mattis hopes that more alumni will come forward to help provide relevant internships. “We're especially eager to establish programs in such fields as advertising and marketing, the media, the arts, consulting, and Wall Street — but alumni in all fields can be very helpful,” Mattis says.
Alumni who would like to lend a hand can contact Mattis at the Career Development Center. Her e-mail address is mattisj@union.edu, and her telephone number is 518-388-6176.