From STEAM to Star Shop, STA’s on campus internships are becoming an essential part the community.
Internships are part of a Pathways program at STA. This program, which encourages professional experiences for students outside the classroom, was created by Dr. Mandi Sonnenberg, the Director of STEAM projects and education at STA.
“This innovative program, in partnership with local organizations across a variety of industries and STA staff departments, helps prepare students for college and careers by engaging them in activities beyond their typical studies,” Sonnenberg said.
There are 22 departments available for an internship at STA. With so many options to choose from, students can pin-point their interests and develop relationships with people in that field.
Senior Lillian Ralph is a “Finntern,” meaning she interns for Kelly Finn, the Director of Experiential learning.
“I am an Innovation intern,” Ralph said. “So, I help plan marketing for Women’s Symposium and Interim Week, and then I help kind of boost excitement around the events.”
There are many benefits to interning: service opportunities, developing professional skills and meeting new people involved in the community.
Sonnenberg loves to see the students reap the benefits of internships through working with staff members.
“The students get to learn more about a staff member and their career and profession.” Sonnenberg said. “They’re able to support the mission of the school, and they’re able to have experiences that help them earn their service hours, meet different people and more importantly, work on their skill levels, task completion, time management and learn how to communicate effectively.”
Ralph’s favorite benefit of internships is her ability to be creative and assertive.
“Ms. Finn lets me come to her with ideas instead of just assigning things,” Ralph said. “So I get to work on things I enjoy.”
However, with all the positives of internships come a few set backs. Sonnenberg says the hardest things about internships is getting people to reply.
“I think the biggest challenge is following back up with your supervisor,” Sonnenberg said. “It’s really important that interns respond within 24 hours, and constantly communicate with their supervisor. I think sometimes that, from what I hear, the biggest challenge is just communication.”
As an intern, Ralph experiences the same struggle.
“It can be hard to get things done if people don’t respond to my Teams chats,” Ralph said.
Besides a lack of communication, the only other challenging aspect of internships can be time commitment.
“First semester is pretty slow, but then the week of Interim, it kicks up,” Ralph said. “In second semester it is almost a 30 hour commitment.”
The time commitment doesn’t come without reward, though. Along with developing professional skills, service hours are rewarded after 10 required hours.
“10 hours of service is required,” Sonnenberg said. “After that, you may log any extra hours in Helper Helper.”
To achieve an internship and receive all the benefits, an application is necessary.
The process, outlined by Sonnenberg, includes 4 steps: application, confirmation, training and feedback. Application starts in for the next starts in April and closes in May. Confirmation is when placements are confirmed and training follows the year of the internship. After the internship ends, educators give feedback in a survey.
