Internships are more important than ever before: Office of Internship Services focuses on student success

Internships have an ever-increasing importance for students and employers, and the office of internship services helps in coordinating a university-wide effort to supplement academic preparation with professional experience.

Jessica McArthur, the internship coordinator for the Woodbury School of Business, is one of many staff members who facilitates students gaining experience through internships.

“This whole entire thing is setup for student success,” said McArthur. “We want students to graduate. We want them to do an internship, and typically, if students do an internship, they have a better chance of getting a job when they graduate.”

Internship services staff, along with the Career Development Center, arrange career and internship events, as well as smaller scale meet and greets, to help students network and learn about opportunities locally, nationally and internationally.

The internship services office provides a summary list of insights and statistics related to internships and career readiness; that list is compiled from the National Association of Colleges and Employers and research conducted by the Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Based on the information from those sources, students are more likely to get a job and have a higher starting salary if they have completed an internship or an applied learning project. Students are also more likely to obtain a job with an organization if they interned there.

The internship services office has helped to unify internship programs at the university, but many students are still not well-informed about internship benefits such as those described by NACE and the Hart Research Associates’ study.

Career exploration classes and academic advising that discuss internship opportunities can help inform students as it did with James Cope, a freshman who has not determined his major.

“If there is a specific internship that is related to something that I am interested in, then I might want to do one,” said Cope.

For students like  Cope, internships will be more appealing once they have decided on a major.

Hannah Sturtevant, currently a paramedic studies major, has changed her major a few times since being at UVU. She says she is more likely to do an internship now that she is beginning the core curriculum for her major. Prior to choosing her current major, she did not see much value in doing an internship while being uncertain of what her area of study would be

“Now that I am starting the paramedic program soon, I will be able to find more that relate to me better,” said Sturtevant.

For students like Kait Urmston, a Spanish major, internships can be a way of exploring interests and opportunities, even if they are not directly related to their majors. Urmston is currently working with an internship in videography and marketing. She is almost finished with her current degree, but is now considering additional education with videography, which has become a passion of hers.

“After I graduate in Spanish, maybe I should come back part-time and take classes in areas where I know that my video and editing is weak,” said Urmston.