Career Development recently launched its Intern for a Day program, which allows students to connect with Monmouth University employer partners by working alongside an industry professional for a day.
Unlike a traditional internship, which often requires a full-time commitment over the span of multiple months, Intern for a Day enables students to gain practical experience and develop career-related skills in one day.
“Students live busy lives and sometimes it is difficult for them to commit to a full-time internship,” explained Julia Angeliadis, Outreach Coordinator for Career Development. “We hope to alleviate this stress by offering an alternative option where students are able to gain career insights and guidance while building confidence in networking with professional connections in a shorter period of time.”
Some of the companies currently participating in the program include Withum, Northwestern Mutual, Planning Alliance, Mazza Recycling Services, NJ Advance Media, Bright Harbor Healthcare, The Curchin Group LLC, Reed Smith LLP, Borgata, Labcorp, MJH Life Sciences, Playa Bowls, and more. Career Development noted that additional employer partners will be added in the future.
Julian Rebelo, a senior chemistry student with a minor in graphic design, explained the difficulties that he experienced while completing several internships during his undergraduate career. “At times, especially during the semester, it was a little challenging to find the work-school balance, especially as the semester progressed,” He said.
Skylar Smith, a graduate student studying interactive digital media, completed an internship with Monmouth Digital Network during her senior year. “As a student athlete, much of my time is taken up by commitments to my sport. Going into my internship I was concerned about balancing my responsibilities, but luckily, I did not have many issues.”
Rebelo agreed, describing the program as a useful opportunity for busy students who might struggle to balance the commitment of a traditional internship. “If the program was available to me earlier, I would definitely be interested because it would allow me to work alongside my packed school schedule while still giving me the opportunities I need,” he said.
Beyond alleviating the stress of trying to find the time for an internship, the Intern for a Day program also gives students the unique opportunity to connect with multiple companies at once. Students interested in participating must go through an application process. If accepted, they could have the chance to shadow individuals from multiple organizations.
“They would not be able to do [that] as quickly when committing to a full-time internship,” noted Angeliadis, pointing out another perk of the Intern for a Day program compared to a traditional internship.
“The tasks of participating students vary depending on the organization, but we try to match them based on their areas of interest,” said Angeliadis. She also explained that some responsibilities may include sitting in on meetings, shadowing professionals in specific departments, and performing project-based work. “This can be anything from data entry to helping create a social media post to participating in educational training sessions,” Angeliadis specified.
Some of the industry professionals that students get to work with are Monmouth University alumni. Jenny Tavares, for example, was connected with Austin Skelton, Associate at Reed Smith LLP and MU ‘18, through the Intern for a Day program.
“We had an informative and fun time today,” said Skelton about Tavares’ visit at Reed Smith LLP. “Jenny is a great student and I’m excited to see where her law school journey takes her. She asked wonderful questions, was truly curious about my industry and carried herself as a professional in my office.”
Spencer Ryan, another Monmouth University student who participated in the program, had the opportunity to connect with four MU alumni who now work as team members at The Curchin Group.
“I think that the new Intern for a Day program is a great resource and students should take advantage of it,” Smith concluded. “Sometimes you don’t know where to start or what kind of internship you’d be interested in, so this sounds like a great opportunity for students to test out internships before committing to one for an entire semester. I wish that this was offered when I was an undergraduate student.”
