This past summer, senior Samantha Minc provided on-site health care to inner-city Boston residents in need. Minc's experience, an internship through the Community Health program that awarded credit, is just one example of the many opportunities open to students.
Minc's internship grew out of her interest in the medical profession. During the summer she worked with The Family Van, a traveling community clinic that was housed in a Winnebago.
Minc's experience was extremely hands-on. As a licensed EMT in Massachusetts, she was able to interact immediately with the patients who visited the van.
Each day at work, Minc visited two sites in Boston where she, along with the other Family Van workers, provided basic health services such as blood pressure screenings, and HIV and pregnancy testing and counseling. In addition, they offered a sympathetic ear to the patients. The Family Van also offered assistance in the form of emergency diapers and formula as part of a healthy babies program for low-income families.
Minc liked her internship so much that she decided to continue volunteering with the Family Van throughout the school year. Her experience also confirmed her decision to go into the field of medicine.
Soon after her arrival at Tufts, Minc found herself disenchanted with the idea of med school. After completing her internship, though, her opinion changed. "[Working with The Family Van] reconnected me with the reason why I wanted to go into medicine: to interact with and care for people," she said.
Internships are not limited to the medical field, of course. Senior Charlie Needelman also has an internship that provides him with hands-on experience at Cisco's software division. As a computer science major, he puts his knowledge to practical use at the internship, where he mainly does programming.
"In a lot of internships students get stuck doing legwork, but I was lucky with this one and got to do what I wanted to," Needelman said. He was also able to secure a job with the company when he graduates. This is one of the best benefits that internships can offer - getting your foot in the door can certainly ease the transition to the job market.
Although some student interns inevitably end up making copies and answering phones all day, it is not a hard task to steer clear of these "grunt work" internships. Students can research potential internships through Career Services, where staff members can provide advice about interning opportunities.
There is a extensive variety of resources are available at Career Services, most notably their career resource library which houses several internship bibles and lists internships throughout the country as well as overseas. The Career Services website - careers.tufts.edu - provides several links to Internet resources for internships, including the site interncenter.com.
Andrea Casey, Assistant Director for Internships at Career Services, also suggests that students take advantage of the career advisory network, which allows students to network with Tufts alums.
When searching for internships, students can take advantage of other sources besides Career Services. Many departments have resources available for students who wish to get an internship in their particular area. Departments often have contact with alumni as well, and this can help in the search.
Students can also go out on their own in search of the perfect internship. Over the summer, sophomore Anna Sommer did independent research and checked Internet listings for internship opportunities. She was able to find an internship for the current semester at Environmental Futures, a consulting company that works with clients in the energy business, such as power companies and people who which to build power plants or build renewable technologies.
Sommer must complete an internship to fulfill a requirement for her Environmental Studies major. For her internship, she does issue-specific research for the company on different environmental topics.
She has found work to be a great learning environment. "It's definitely a worthwhile experience," Sommer said. "I've learned so much."
Although Sommer receives Tufts credit for her internship, there are many non-credit internship possibilities as well. There is also an option to complete an internship for an academic transcript notation, but without credit.
Internships supplement the educational experience by providing students with hands-on experience in a working environment and teaching them about their chosen field. They can even help students narrow down career choices.
"Internships provide an opportunity to experience all sorts of different fields and industries," Casey said. She said that many students take on internships in different areas as a dry run, usually to see if a particular field is something they might want to continue in the future.
Casey stressed that it's never too early to start looking for an internship. Some companies have deadlines for their positions, so students should research their options well beforehand.
"I think it's best to start early so you're making the best choice for yourself and for the employer as well," Casey said.
