From conducting wildlife surveys in North Dakota to managing wind energy projects in Rhode Island and helping craft energy policy in the nation’s capital, undergraduate students at Unity College will show off the vast array of their 2016 summer internship work at the 4th Annual Unity College Internship Showcase.
At the event, 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 8, more than 50 Unity College students will offer comprehensive presentations on their internship experiences. The event, to be held in the Tozier Gymnasium, is free and open to the general public.
In all, 108 students participated in internships in 20 states and one foreign country in 2016 — approximately 16 percent of the entire student population.
Unity College President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury said internships are a great way to acquire connections and real-world problem solving skills, and are a key piece of the school’s unique curriculum in sustainability science.
“We have students who have travelled the globe to gain work experience in fields like sustainable energy, conservation, policy, sustainable agriculture, and more,” Khoury said. “That’s not by accident. Our staff works really hard to cultivate these partnerships, and our students often go through a competitive application process in order to secure these valuable educational experiences and get ahead in their classes and careers.”
Director of Career Services Nicole Collins said students will share fascinating experiences as they celebrate and showcase their experiential learning from around the world.
“This is a great event to learn about internship experience and gain ideas for future internships,” Collins said. “These experiences often prove to be the deciding factor in helping new college graduates to land their all-important first job.”
Collins said the Unity College internship program has been in place for more than 30 years. In addition to the Internship Showcase, which remains one of the highlights of the Unity student experience, student use of the Career Resource Center has doubled in the past six years, and Unity also offers the largest environmental career fair in New England, with more than 85 employers participating every February.
Unity College undergraduates have increased their internship placement by 70 percent over the past six years, according to Collins.
“Unity College student interns are well-prepared, in demand, and get incredible support during their internship experience,” Khoury said. “Unity College students are mentored by professors before, during, and after these experiences. They have an incredible range of great internship options. Because of the low student-faculty ratio, and our reputation for serious experiential learning in the sciences, our undergraduate students regularly get these types of research opportunities often reserved for graduate students.”
Collins said anyone with questions about Unity College internships can schedule a visit by emailing her at ncollins@unity.edu. A list of exhibiting students and their compelling internships is available upon request; email the media relations staff.
