Summer Internship
Some of the recipients of Bryant Summer Internship Fellowships, left to right: Benjamin Murphy ’19; Conor Joyce ’19; Marlee O’Keefe ’19; Nathaniel Brown ’19; Valentina Godoy ’19; Alec Turner ’21; Mary Cate Gallagher ’19; Melissa Hurwitz ’19; Anne Marie Greaney ’19.
Donor support expands opportunity for summer internships
Feb 01, 2019, by Staff Writer
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A contribution to Bryant can have an immediate, tangible, and life-changing impact on the life of a Bryant student. Each year, future career opportunities are expanded immeasurably for several students seeking vital professional experience, thanks to donor support of the Bryant Summer Internship Fellowship program.

Offered through the University’s Amica Center for Career Education, the Summer Internship Fellowship program allows students – regardless of their financial circumstances – to pursue prestigious, top-tier summer internships that will give them an edge as they seek employment in highly competitive industries.

“These fellowships offer deep, meaningful experiences that are incredibly impactful for both the students and the organizations they’re working for,” notes Kevin Gaw, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Amica Center. “When awarding the fellowships, we look for how the internships the students have applied for connect with their course of study, their academic preparation, and their career goals.”

Many students are unable to pursue internships at organizations that can offer relevant and valuable experience because the positions are unpaid or offer only modest stipends. Students may also need to relocate or travel to cities where many internship opportunities are often clustered, resulting in significantly increased living and transportation expenses.

Underwritten by Bryant donors, the Summer Fellowship Internship program expands access to unpaid or low-paying internships – often at nonprofit and service organizations – enabling students to explore their professional interests and prioritize their long-term career objectives.

“Internships help us figure out who we are, what our passions are, and how to be successful,” says Brian Salit ’19, who interned last year with the Total Teacher Project. “It helped me learn how to make connections between corporations and nonprofits and how to make the biggest impact possible.”

There is no substitute for the type of experience that an internship can provide at such a critical time in a student’s life. The right internship can inspire confidence, and provide a roadmap for professional success.
- Judith Allen ’55, Businessperson and Faculty Member, College of Charleston; Founder of the Leger R. Morrison Endowed Internship Fund

An internship can be a student’s first step beyond the security of the classroom toward a challenging and fulfilling professional career. For many employers, relevant internship experience is an increasingly critical component of a recent graduate’s résumé. If a student has targeted a specific corporation for future employment, an internship can serve as an extended job interview, with the intern learning about an organization’s leadership and culture while the company assesses the intern’s talent and potential. Students emerge from internships as highly qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable candidates for positions in top companies, often receiving job offers immediately upon graduation.

Expanded access to experiential learning opportunities continues to raise Bryant’s career outcome rates for graduates, making Bryant an increasingly appealing destination for prospective students.

“We believe in experiential education and that learning by doing is one of the best ways to develop your career path,” says Amica Center Career Coach Amy Ames. “The early exposure to their chosen fields that students gain from the Summer Internship Fellowships helps them get one step closer to what they want to do with their lives.”

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