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Taking a turn at work


Students gain insight into an array of professions and careers

September 12, 2006


Daiana Beitler '07, a student intern with Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) this summer, with Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. They were participating in the Day of Ethics and Development at the IDB, which was held in February.

What do HarperCollins Publishers, the Carter Center Democracy Program and the Washington Wild Things Professional Baseball Club have in common? Dickinsonians who had internships on their sites this summer. Students made significant contributions to businesses, nonprofit organizations, athletic teams, colleges and universities, political campaigns and legislative offices.

About 120 students registered summer internships with the Career Center, according to Rachel Spier, assistant director/internship coordinator. She explains that internships are a chance for students to gather pre-professional work experience that is not limited to areas in which they already have a lot of knowledge.

Getting the tools

The Career Center can provide students with tools that help them make career-related decisions, Spier says. Staff members also can help students determine their skills and interests, which can aid in the decision-making process for an internship as well as career and post-graduation plans.

In addition to gaining practical skills from an internship, Spier says that there are cases where internships lead to jobs. But sometimes the benefits are a bit more indirect, such as contacts for future jobs, references and building a professional network.

Dickinsonians have taken this to heart, with about 48 to 52 percent of seniors replying to the Senior Survey indicating that they completed an internship while at Dickinson.

Clarifying plans

Martin Maisonpierre '08 is one student who will check yes on the internship question when he has the chance to fill out his Senior Survey. Maisonpierre was a legal intern at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) even though he did not have any legal experience. Still he was "doing substantive work that affected the outcome of cases being handled by my division."

After a summer at the NYSE, this law-and-policy major was able to clarify his plans to attend law school after Dickinson.

"There are tons of places to intern, whether you are just curious about a field or really want to be involved in it in the future. You might enjoy it or end up hating it, but there is no better way to start networking and building professional relationships for the future," he says.

Oh, and it was really cool to be on the balcony of the NYSE and ring the opening bell for the day's trading.

Another step

Kira Lanier '08, a women's-studies major with an emphasis on youth and urban studies, is another Dickinsonian interested in law school after graduation but not in being a practicing lawyer.

She plans to run a nonprofit organization, and her summer internship was another step on the path. Lanier worked with the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

There, Lanier got to see the intricacies of running a nonprofit organization from the nitty-gritty of paying bills to setting up goals for the entire museum administration.

Now, Lanier is at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and plans to find the time for another internship in Norwich, possibly one working with children.

Bridging the gap

Daiana Beitler '07, who hails from Uruguay, became interested in her internship site, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), while she was a student at The Washington Center, a Dickinson partner program that provides experiential learning in the nation's capital.

Beitler worked in the poverty and inequality unit of the sustainable-development department at IDB, where she collaborated on technical papers and conducted qualitative and quantitative research.

Like many student interns, Beitler's work allowed her to bridge the gap between classroom learning and in-the-field practices.

"I can't stress enough how important an internship experience is, not only in terms of professional goals, but also to learn how to behave in an office environment and to face the challenges posed by organizations," adds Beitler.

Applying themselves

"Classroom learning is important; applying those theories outside of the classroom at an internship is exciting and can be extremely rewarding," Spier says.

But before leaping to post-graduation careers or graduate school, Spier explains that students looking for internships should answer some questions, like: What classes do you like? What type of work do you envision yourself doing? Do you want to be working with data or people?

"One of the most important things you can do before choosing an internship is to begin to filter out your skills and interests," she says. Career Center counselors are available to assist with everything from completing an internship application to sharpening interviewing skills. Students seeking internships should attend an orientation session, which are held Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2-2:30 p.m.

Visit the Career Center in Biddle House or online.

Here is a sampling of the summer internship sites at which Dickinsonians worked, explored and learned:

  • ABCNews
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development
  • American Embassy, Bureau of European & Eurasian Affairs
  • Automation Systems Interconnect Inc.
  • Baltimore Museum of Industry
  • Bank Street College
  • Big Screen Network Productions Inc.
  • Photography by Blair Seitz
  • Bob Casey for U.S. Senate Campaign
  • Booz Allen Hamilton
  • Carlisle Area Health & Wellness Foundation
  • Carlisle Arts Learning Center
  • Carter Center Democracy Program
  • Celebrity Focus Inc.
  • Center for American Progress
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Choate Rosemary Hall (Summer Programs/Session)
  • Citigroup
  • CommunityBanks
  • Cumberland County Courthouse
  • Cumberland County Historical Society
  • Diane von Furstenberg Studio
  • Dolphin Dreams Images
  • Ferris, Baker Watts Inc.
  • Friends of the Parks
  • Gant
  • General Dynamics, AIS Integrated Program Office
  • Golin/Harris International
  • Graphica
  • Green Roundtable
  • Gucci Group
  • Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc.
  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District Authority
  • Harrisburg Office of Lynn Swann for Governor
  • Helen F. Graham Cancer Center
  • Hon. Edward E. Guido, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, 9th Judicial District
  • Hon. Linda K.M. Ludgate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, 23rd Judicial District
  • Horton's Kids Inc.
  • HSBC Investments (Taiwan) Limited
  • Indiana University School of Medicine
  • Institute for Cultural Partnerships
  • Instituto de Neurologia Cognitiva
  • Inter-American Development Bank
  • Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
  • John Templeton Foundation
  • Katz Media Group
  • The Keystone Research Center
  • Land Trust Alliance
  • LanguageCorps
  • Marc Jacobs
  • Marie Claire magazine
  • Merrell and Merrell
  • Merrill Lynch
  • Merrill Lynch, Global Private Client Group
  • Morgan Stanley
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • National Mental Health Association
  • National Museum of Women in the Arts
  • NBC Sports
  • Nestlé Waters North America, Inc.
  • New Jersey State Police Division Headquarters
  • New York Life
  • New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
  • Octagon
  • Office of the Attorney General, District of Columbia
  • O'Malley/Brown Campaign for Governor
  • Organization of American States
  • PA Department of Health, Policy Office
  • Paul Wilmot Communications
  • Penn State College of Medicine
  • State Capitol Complex of Pennsylvania
  • People for the American Way Foundation
  • People Tree Ltd.
  • Peter Beilenson for Congress Campaign
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Ross, Anglim, Angelini, & Co. LLP
  • Sanctuary Group
  • Sconset Market
  • Shinsei Bank
  • Smith Barney, division of Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
  • Smith Fairfield Inc.
  • Special Ops Media
  • St. Rose de Lima Church
  • Sustained Dialogue Campus Network
  • The Florida Aquarium
  • The Harrison Group
  • The Marketing Team
  • U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Department of Commerce
  • UBS
  • UNC Department of Pharmacology
  • Unisys
  • U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy's Washington, D.C., office
  • U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes' office
  • University of Minnesota, McNamara Academic Center
  • University of Delaware
  • University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • Vermont Lake Monsters
  • Washington Wild Things Professional Baseball Club
  • Women For Women International
  • Women Organized Against Rape