Whether it is due to the difficulties students face in landing a paid summer job or their desire to learn more about a potential career path, the number of undergraduates seeking internships has increased. In response to the growing interest, the Career Development Center is looking to hire an internship coordinator to oversee the center's internship-related resources, said CDC Director Andrew Simmons. The coordinator will also work with faculty, staff and alums to oversee and expand the opportunities available, he said.
"Experiential learning is an important type of learning that happens outside of the classroom," said Jennifer Slattery-Bownds, assistant director of professional programs at the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions.
Alicia Ambers '11, who works in the finance department of the Democratic National Committee helping with fundraising, event planning and donor development said, "I was willing to take the unpaid internship because this is something I really wanted to do."
High demand for political internships coupled with organizations' restricted budgets left few paid positions in her field of interest, Ambers said.
Samantha Dweck '13 teaches a class of second-graders through Heads Up, a nonprofit organization that runs literacy programs at struggling Washington, D.C., schools. "The kids are awesome, and there is a definite need for this type of work here," Dweck wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Some Brown students have been able to offset costs and take advantage of funding from programs through the career center or academic departments, such as the Brown Internship Award Program.
The CDC's Brown Internship Award Program — which will now be run by the new internship manager, according to Simmons — provides money for students with unpaid or low-paying summer internships. With a 21 percent rise in the number of applications, the center awarded an additional nine grants this year, The Herald reported on April 28.
The application's requirements included a description of the internship organization and position, as well as a statement from a summer supervisor. Some students reported that they were not far enough along in their internship search to meet the March 22 BIAP application deadline.
Certain departments are also making a concerted effort to provide counseling and financial support for concentrators.
The Taubman Center has its own career counselor and awards stipends to students as part of the Happy and John Hazen White Sr. Internship program, said award recipient Michelle Un '11, who is currently working at the Rhode Island Center for Law and Public Policy.
On the application, the center asks students to list options they are considering for the summer but does not require specific job details until May 18, Slattery-Bownds said. Finding and securing internships is a lengthy and in-depth process, she said. "It involves a lot more networking than just applying to things online," she said.
"I have never found career services particularly helpful. However, I have had professors who were willing to take the time to meet with me and advise me on how to get an internship," Ambers wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Un, the only undergraduate intern among mostly law students, also emphasized that reaching out to people with similar interests, hearing about their experiences and sharing contacts is one of the best strategies for finding an internship.
