New options available for students seeking internships

Miranda Maritato | Staff Reporter

Butler will host its first Big Dawg internship and career fair this afternoon.
The fair will feature up to 90 for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, graduate schools and gap year programs, according to the Butler Internship and Career Services’ website.
Internships are a graduation requirement for a number of majors around campus.
Along with networking, Butler offers resources to help students find and prepare for internships. Internship coordinators are available for departments ranging from anthropology to theatre.
The Internship and Career Services office offers help to Butler students of all colleges.
The Institute for Study Abroad is available for students who want to work outisde of Indianapolis. ICS offers individualized career counseling as well as networking, career fairs and mock interviews.
ICS also offers an eight-week course called LC 301: Career Planning Strategies. The course is worth three credits and can help students begin a structured timeline for a plan of action regarding careers and internships. ICS works with students of every year as well as alumni.
The ICS mission is to provide and support learning opportunities to build and sustain relationships with employers, said Jennifer McConnell, one of Butler’s career advisors.
“Whether you are looking to study abroad, take a gap year or return as an alumni looking for a new career, ICS can assist you,” McConnell said.
As a senior, Hannah Riffe is working on her third internship. She is majoring in recording industries studies with a minor in public relations.
By taking advantage of personal networking, Riffe got her first internship last year without services offered at Butler.
Riffe landed her second internship through the Institute for Study Abroad in London for Blurb PR, a public relations company specializing in music.
Riffe now interns for an independent record label in Indianapolis called Asthmatic Kitty Records. Guided by her academic advisor, Riffe was led to her current internship two weeks before school began.
“My last two internships were both in the music industry, but they’re two different things, so they’re helping me expand my skill set,” Riffe said.
Riffe said she is glad she spent her first two years of college primarily focusing on her GPA and classes, not interning.
“If you’re a freshman hoping to start interning, just wait,” Riffe said. “I think the summer before junior year is probably the ideal time to start interning.”
Sophomore Andrew Gelwicks said some students want an early start on internships.
Gelwicks is the vice president of Strategic Internship Consulting.
Gelwicks’ sister started the company last year at Indiana University, where it helped more than 200 students find internships.
SIC is geared to help freshmen and sophomores find internships. The company’s mission is to give options to students. It promotes the use of one’s own contacts and network instead of going through recruiters who come to campus.
“You don’t have to be an upperclassman to have a very successful internship,” Gelwicks said. “You can be young and use that to your advantage to get these really amazing opportunities.”
SIC charges $10 for an initial consultation and $20 for each additional hour.

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