Posted 7:40 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, 2012
UW-L’s Career Services continues to look for more employers willing to offer internships to UW-L students because of the amazing work experience and career direction it provides. Karla Stanek, director of Career Services, asks alums who had internships to remember the person or employer who gave them a start and then consider how they might do the same.
[caption id="attachment_2721" align="alignleft" width="224"]
Mitch Cooper, ’09, was a marketing major. He now works in experiential marketing for Reader’s Digest.[/caption]
UW-L Alum Mitch Cooper, ’09, watches new groups of interns come into his workplace at Reader’s Digest in Milwaukee. As he supervises some of these college students, he is reminded of himself only a few years ago.
“I truly try to make it a learning experience because I had a valuable learning experience in my internships,” he says.
UW-L’s Career Services set Cooper up with marketing internships at the Wisconsin State Fair, Red Bull Energy Drink and Reader’s Digest during college. The experiences helped him understand the components of marketing that he enjoyed and those he didn’t. The cumulative experience helped him land his first job doing experiential marketing for Reader’s Digest.
“I formed a relationship with a great company,” he says. “Because of the relationship, they brought me back and allowed me to do what I love.”
UW-L’s Career Services continues to look for more employers willing to offer internships to UW-L students because of the amazing work experience and career direction it provides.
The internship market is similar to the job market, says UW-L’s Director of Career Services Karla Stanek. Staff have difficulty meeting employer demand in some areas and difficulty meeting student demand in others. The highest demand internships right now are in communications, marketing, public administration, psychology and sociology, she says.
Stanek asks alums who had internships to remember the person or employer who gave them a start and then consider how they might do the same.
“If you or your organization can offer an internship, it is a wonderful way to give back to your university and invest in the future of a student,” explains Stanek.
[caption id="attachment_2728" align="alignleft" width="320"]
From left, Kara Pennoyer, ’06, legislative aide to Sen. Jennifer Shilling, staffs a committee meeting that Shilling was chairing. Pennoyer earned a double major from UW-L in political science and communication studies and a minor in public administration.[/caption]
An internship in fall 2011 at Sen. Jennifer Shilling’s office in Madison gave UW-L senior Kate Constalie a look at the inner workings of the State Capitol from committee meetings to the making of a bill.
“It’s definitely more than the simple steps that you read in a book,” she says.
The internship opened her eyes to what she can do with her major in public administration and she can now picture herself returning to Madison for a full-time career after graduation.
Constalie’s internship was the result of two UW-L alums in Shilling’s office — Shilling, ’92, and Kara Pennoyer, ’06, a legislative aide to Shilling. They discussed the need for a UW-L student in their Madison office who could provide communications assistance and a La Crosse connection.
“Both Jennifer and I graduated from the Political Science Department and we think very highly of the students and professors there,” says Pennoyer.
Pennoyer talked with Karolyn Bald in UW-L’s Career Services office and Political Science Professor Joe Heim to find the right student. Constalie worked 40 hours a week in Madison and earned internship credit.
[caption id="attachment_2735" align="alignright" width="350"]
Sen. Jennifer Shilling, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, Brandi Kochera, North Crawford High School student shadowing Shilling, and Kate Constalie, Shilling’s office intern, in the Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers. During Constalie’s internship, Shilling was able to take the two students to a meeting and behind-the-scenes tour of the Supreme Court with Walsh Bradley.[/caption]
“On our end it was great,” says Pennoyer. “We’d never had a 40-hour per week intern. She basically became staff. And Kate’s immersion into the office was a great learning experience for her.”
After the internship, Shilling hired Constalie as a limited-term employee to work in La Crosse while Constalie returned to school.
Pennoyer also knows the benefits of an internship firsthand. She had her own internship experience as a UW-L senior in spring 2006 working for New Horizons Shelter and Women’s Center. It gave her experience in grant writing, fundraising, non-profits and more — all helpful skills as she pursued graduate school and eventually a job working for Shilling.
Like Cooper, Pennoyer watches new interns learn the ropes — answering phones and learning professional etiquette. She remembers what it was like to be in those shoes and it reminds her how valuable the experience is.
“I try to help coach them through their first professional experience,” she says. “We watch them grow and learn.”
Set up an internship — provide experience to a student
Employers interested in setting up an internship program with UW-L can contact Career Services at 608.785.8514. Career Services will work with the company to develop a job description for the internship. Employers are asked to treat an intern as a professional employee including training, supervision and evaluations.
A strong history providing student internships
UW-L has the oldest and one of the largest centralized internship programs among the comprehensive campuses in the UW System. Since the origin of the program in 1975, UW-L’s Career Services has coordinated over 17,000 internships, both regionally and nationally. The number of active internships and jobs posted varies throughout the year. About 8,000 internships and entry-level jobs were posted in fiscal year 2011-12.
Connect with UW-L Career Services
Career Services offers an online database where students can upload resumes and search for jobs and internships. Likewise, employer representatives can post internships and jobs (part-time, seasonal, new graduate and alumni), search for candidate resumes, manage on-campus recruiting schedules and register for UW-L career events. The website also provides career event information and other career resources. To log in to the system visit http://www.uwlax.edu/careerservices/ and employers can log in at the link on the left sidebar.
Mitch Cooper, ’09, was a marketing major. He now works in experiential marketing for Reader’s Digest.[/caption]
UW-L Alum Mitch Cooper, ’09, watches new groups of interns come into his workplace at Reader’s Digest in Milwaukee. As he supervises some of these college students, he is reminded of himself only a few years ago.
“I truly try to make it a learning experience because I had a valuable learning experience in my internships,” he says.
UW-L’s Career Services set Cooper up with marketing internships at the Wisconsin State Fair, Red Bull Energy Drink and Reader’s Digest during college. The experiences helped him understand the components of marketing that he enjoyed and those he didn’t. The cumulative experience helped him land his first job doing experiential marketing for Reader’s Digest.
“I formed a relationship with a great company,” he says. “Because of the relationship, they brought me back and allowed me to do what I love.”
UW-L’s Career Services continues to look for more employers willing to offer internships to UW-L students because of the amazing work experience and career direction it provides.
The internship market is similar to the job market, says UW-L’s Director of Career Services Karla Stanek. Staff have difficulty meeting employer demand in some areas and difficulty meeting student demand in others. The highest demand internships right now are in communications, marketing, public administration, psychology and sociology, she says.
Stanek asks alums who had internships to remember the person or employer who gave them a start and then consider how they might do the same.
“If you or your organization can offer an internship, it is a wonderful way to give back to your university and invest in the future of a student,” explains Stanek.
[caption id="attachment_2728" align="alignleft" width="320"] From left, Kara Pennoyer, ’06, legislative aide to Sen. Jennifer Shilling, staffs a committee meeting that Shilling was chairing. Pennoyer earned a double major from UW-L in political science and communication studies and a minor in public administration.[/caption]
An internship in fall 2011 at Sen. Jennifer Shilling’s office in Madison gave UW-L senior Kate Constalie a look at the inner workings of the State Capitol from committee meetings to the making of a bill.
“It’s definitely more than the simple steps that you read in a book,” she says.
The internship opened her eyes to what she can do with her major in public administration and she can now picture herself returning to Madison for a full-time career after graduation.
Constalie’s internship was the result of two UW-L alums in Shilling’s office — Shilling, ’92, and Kara Pennoyer, ’06, a legislative aide to Shilling. They discussed the need for a UW-L student in their Madison office who could provide communications assistance and a La Crosse connection.
“Both Jennifer and I graduated from the Political Science Department and we think very highly of the students and professors there,” says Pennoyer.
Pennoyer talked with Karolyn Bald in UW-L’s Career Services office and Political Science Professor Joe Heim to find the right student. Constalie worked 40 hours a week in Madison and earned internship credit.
[caption id="attachment_2735" align="alignright" width="350"] Sen. Jennifer Shilling, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, Brandi Kochera, North Crawford High School student shadowing Shilling, and Kate Constalie, Shilling’s office intern, in the Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers. During Constalie’s internship, Shilling was able to take the two students to a meeting and behind-the-scenes tour of the Supreme Court with Walsh Bradley.[/caption]
“On our end it was great,” says Pennoyer. “We’d never had a 40-hour per week intern. She basically became staff. And Kate’s immersion into the office was a great learning experience for her.”
After the internship, Shilling hired Constalie as a limited-term employee to work in La Crosse while Constalie returned to school.
Pennoyer also knows the benefits of an internship firsthand. She had her own internship experience as a UW-L senior in spring 2006 working for New Horizons Shelter and Women’s Center. It gave her experience in grant writing, fundraising, non-profits and more — all helpful skills as she pursued graduate school and eventually a job working for Shilling.
Like Cooper, Pennoyer watches new interns learn the ropes — answering phones and learning professional etiquette. She remembers what it was like to be in those shoes and it reminds her how valuable the experience is.
“I try to help coach them through their first professional experience,” she says. “We watch them grow and learn.”
Set up an internship — provide experience to a student
Employers interested in setting up an internship program with UW-L can contact Career Services at 608.785.8514. Career Services will work with the company to develop a job description for the internship. Employers are asked to treat an intern as a professional employee including training, supervision and evaluations.
A strong history providing student internships
UW-L has the oldest and one of the largest centralized internship programs among the comprehensive campuses in the UW System. Since the origin of the program in 1975, UW-L’s Career Services has coordinated over 17,000 internships, both regionally and nationally. The number of active internships and jobs posted varies throughout the year. About 8,000 internships and entry-level jobs were posted in fiscal year 2011-12.
Connect with UW-L Career Services
Career Services offers an online database where students can upload resumes and search for jobs and internships. Likewise, employer representatives can post internships and jobs (part-time, seasonal, new graduate and alumni), search for candidate resumes, manage on-campus recruiting schedules and register for UW-L career events. The website also provides career event information and other career resources. To log in to the system visit http://www.uwlax.edu/careerservices/ and employers can log in at the link on the left sidebar.