internships – DePaul University Career Center Blog

Here We Do: Students of Internship Plus (WQ22)

We know that not every student can afford to take an unpaid internship, which influenced our decision to establish the Internship Plus Program. This program awards up to $2,500 in financial assistance to students who have an unpaid internship opportunity and demonstrate financial need. Through this program, many students, like the ones below, have been able to gain important experience in their field of interest. Hear about it from them:

Haley Colegate interned at Arts of Life

My experience as an intern at Arts of Life consisted primarily of socializing with and assisting the artists in studio, as well as teaching weekly art history talks for virtual programming.

Choosing my favorite aspect of my internship is incredibly difficult, though I would have to say that forming relationships with the artists was definitely the most rewarding! For instance, one of the artists, Susan, sang to me a song that she had written about me, which brought a huge smile to my face. I have learned so much about each of their families, their passions, their pets—really anything that they wanted to share with me, I was happy to listen.

However, it was also hard at times. Sometimes artists would share very sensitive and upsetting events from their past with me. On one hand, I felt honored that they entrusted me with such information. However, I couldn’t help but be saddened by what I was told. When these sorts of topics came up, it helped test my skills with trauma responses and how to provide a safe place for artists to share.

As someone who is on track to become a therapist with a specialty in art, this internship at Arts of Life was a perfect fit for me.

I got to see first-hand how the creative process builds relationships, encourages independence, and provides a sense of fulfillment in these artists.

My experiences there also helped me to talk to other facilitators who worked there, many of whom are artists themselves. Meeting new people with similar interests/ career goals as myself is always beneficial.

In terms of advice, I would first recommend only interning at a place that you feel truly passionate about. If you don’t enjoy the work, the value of your experience greatly diminishes. Fortunately, Arts of Life combined two of my passions, which are special needs advocacy and art!

Without my Internship Plus award, I would have had a much more difficult time getting to and from my internship. Arts of Life is located on the west side of town and, without a car, was pretty hard to access by public transit. I am so grateful that I was chosen as a recipient, and I hope that this award will continue for others in the future!

Kendrick Bryant interned for RUN Sports

For my internship, I worked remote from home for a company in New York called RUN Sports. My official role working in the company was a mobile game developer/software engineer, and my work mostly focused on being the programmer for a mobile game.

Some of my responsibilities were handling the user interface, gameplay, and animations. What I enjoyed most about my internship were the people I got the opportunity to work with within the company. Everyone was very dedicated, enthusiastic about the project and remained motivated while working on the project to the end.

Some of my biggest takeaways from this internship were time management. During my internship, me and my group created meetings separate from our boss just so we could stay organized, and we created deadlines for ourselves to make sure we had extra development time. Everyone made sure that we accomplished our tasks ahead of time and this allowed us to have a very smooth development process.

This internship helped me get closer to achieving my career goals as it gave me more experience within the industry, more experience working with other people, and new tools to help me progress in my field.

My advice to other students would be, if you’re searching for an internship, find a project that you’re sure that you’re going to be passionate about. A lot of people get an internship, but then lose their motivation and get burnt out. If you find something that you’re passionate about, there will be less chances of you getting burnt out and bored of the project.

Being an Internship Plus award recipient impacted me positively as my internship was unpaid and required a lot of time and energy which would’ve gone into my part-time job. Receiving this award allowed me to focus more on my internship, my education and my career.

Malena Petronijevic interned at FashionBar Chicago

My internship at FashionBar Chicago in the Water Tower Place has given me the opportunity the gain a better understanding of the technical work a company needs to function efficiently. Not only did I get a finer idea of my management style, but also what I value in a work environment.

I engaged in many different parts of a business including marketing, finance, and management. Over the past few weeks I have been able to book designers for our upcoming April and October fashion shows, access and post on our TikTok and Instagram accounts, and manage mass communication emails. One of the most important and enjoyable learning lessons has been gaining a better understanding of entrepreneurial perspectives and how to eventually build something of my own.

Tony Long, my supervisor and the CEO, has structured all lessons with a common theme of applicability outside of FashionBar Chicago, which I have genuinely appreciated. My biggest takeaway in this internship has been learning about applicable work knowledge. Whether that was email etiquette, developing professional relationships, or setting boundaries, being able to learn about these rules in a work environment was very insightful.

I have also become very proud of my growing confidence inside and outside of the business. FashionBar Chicago, as a business administration major, has allowed me to reflect on what I would and would not want to apply in my management style. I hope that I can continue to explore alternative work environments but now know I work well in smaller teams.

My biggest advice for students seeking internships is to build connections with your business as best as possible. I had the opportunity to volunteer for Chicago Fashion Week back in October and because of my attentiveness then, was able to intern for them! As I continue to grow and constantly express my eagerness to learn, I have even had discussions with my supervisor regarding a potential job offer.

Do not feel afraid to ask questions. Your willingness to learn the industry will be very noticeable and influential. In regards to the Internship Plus award, the award has significantly impacted my financial stability this quarter. In December, prior to the internship, I broke my ankle in a mall shooting by falling down the escalators. Regaining my physical strength while working at an internship for free has been a unique experience! Being able to leave my part-time job was an easier experience with the award. Additionally, receiving the award was an immense honor considering my grade level and experience.

Anonda Tyler interned at Lincoln Park Preschool

My name is Anonda Tyler, better known as Nonie, and to the students I observed and taught Ms. Nonie. On Tuesdays and Thursdays , the school that I did my fieldwork hours at was at the Lincoln Park Preschool.

The school is smack in one of the busy places in the city and is a private school. This school is a dream location to me because it is right across the street from the Lincoln Park Zoo, where we always went to walk when we took the children outside for fresh air. The zoo was perfect to share intimate and angelic experiences that helped me build bonds with students more closely.

The days where I went to visit were during the school day, and typically their hours for school are 9 to 3 o’clock, where they take naps at 1pm, then wait for pick up at 2pm. I stayed from 7 o’clock till 12pm on most days and managed to get over 17 field hours.

The grade I was working with were preschoolers, who were called the 3s and 4s group. I enjoyed most visiting the zoo, and this internship allowed me to appreciate the art of play in teaching and why it is important to include multiple mediums with fine motor skills and gross motor skills activities.

This award impacted me in a good way financially, because it is very hard for my family and I to pay tuition, so it alleviated a lot of stress with worrying about proceeding in this field that I am passionate about due to not always having the resources to support that dream.

Technology Internships for 1st and 2nd Year Students

Google Summer of Code

Spend your summer break writing code and learning about open source development while earning a stipend with the Google Summer of Code! Accepted students work with a mentor and become a part of the open source community. Many become lifetime open source developers! Google Summer of Code is open to post-secondary students, age 18 and older in most countries.

Google Engineering Practicum

This is a 12-week developmental opportunity for first and second-year undergraduate students with a passion for technology—especially students from historically underrepresented groups including women, Native American, Black, Latino, Veteran and students with disabilities. Google’s internship offers the opportunity to work on a software project alongside other EP interns and full-time Googlers, and gives you the chance to bridge the gap between academic understanding and practical professional experience.

Facebook University

Facebook University (FBU) for Engineers is a paid eight-week training program designed to provide mobile development experience to students who are historically under-represented in computer science.

The eight-weeks is broken down by three-weeks of mobile development training in either iOS or the duration of the program you’ll be paired with a Facebook Engineer who will serve as your mentor and guide you along the way.

Twitter Academy

Twitter Academy is a paid 12-week summer internship program designed for second-year students interested in gaining hands-on and real-life experience in the tech industry. Throughout the summer, interns participate in bi-weekly workshops and mentorship geared to sharpen your technical skills and cultivate your professional development. This program is for historically underrepresented (black, Latinx and/or Native American) students in Tech.

Amazon Future Engineer

A comprehensive childhood-to-career program to inspire, educate, and train children and young adults from underserved and low-income communities to pursue careers in computer science.

Explore Microsoft

This is a 12-week summer internship program specifically designed for students in their first or second year of a bachelor’s degree program and provides the opportunity to experience the main phases of the product development cycle: Design, Build and Quality. This program is designed to encourage your interest in in computer science, computer engineering, or a related technical discipline.

The Explore Internship is intended for students who are beginning their academic studies and would like to learn more about careers in software development through a learning program. Interns will gain group project experience working alongside other Explore Interns. Your on-the-job learning will be enhanced with mentoring, community building and networking opportunities.

Discover’s Sophomore Programs

Discover’s internship programs just scored amongst the highest in Vault’s 2018 Best Financial Internships. They help students accelerate their career after graduation with real-world, corporate experiences and the added perks of working for a top financial services firm, such as frequent opportunities to network with senior leaders and the chance to receive pre-graduation career advice from their managers and other industry experts.

American Express

This is a 12 week Summer Internship Program at American Express. Whether you’re studying to get your undergraduate or graduate degree, as an intern in our New York, Phoenix or Ft. Lauderdale offices, you’ll work on important projects with leaders who will encourage you as you create your unique career journey.

McKinsley Sophomore Diversity Leaders Academy (SDLI)

McKinsey’s SDLI program is designed for second-year students to gain experience with consulting. Students will work in one of McKinsey’s offices for 10 weeks to help serve clients, build new skills and participate in social activities. Much of the focus is on learning and personal development.

Credit Suisse Americas Diversity and Inclusion Programs

Credit Suisse has specific diversity programs that offer diverse candidates (for example, students who are female, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino) the opportunity to learn about the financial industry and specifically, what it’s like to work at Credit Suisse. They offer both a Sophomore Diversity Program and a Women’s Mentor Program.

Morgan Stanley Freshman Enhancement Program

The Freshman Enhancement Program provides Black, Hispanic, Native American and LGBT+ students the opportunity to experience Morgan Stanley culture first-hand. Participating divisions include Wealth Management, Global Capital Markets, Investment Banking, and Sales & Trading and Research. They encourage students of all majors and disciplines to apply.

Selected candidates participate in a paid program at their offices in New York City before June and based on participant availability (exact timing of the program to be determined). The program includes valuable training, networking opportunities and exposure to Morgan Stanley professionals across businesses.

Here, We Do: Students of Internship Plus (FQ 2020)

We know that not every student can afford to take an unpaid internship. The Internship Plus Program addresses the issue by awarding up to $2,500 in financial assistance to students who have an unpaid internship opportunity and demonstrate financial need.

Through this program, many students are able to gain important experience in their field of interest. Here is what some of them had to say.

Kathia interned at Dim Events

My internship has helped me in learning what I want to pursue in the future. I can participate in many of my extracurricular activities because of scholarships like these. By having more time to focus on what I want to build in my community and by helping others through service I can further my passions.

It has been a great 6 months working as an intern at Dim Events, and it really encouraged me to start planning out my own business plan.

I have learned a lot about building a community virtually and campaigning for things that I am passionate about such as, women empowerment, Black Lives Matter, and Latinx community issues. I have also moved up in my internship, from being an entrepreneurship intern to becoming an intern manager.

Theodora interned at The Creative Process

Tea’s profile page on The Creative Process website

The experience I had working for The Creative Process opened doors to a plethora of creative media opportunities—it’s become a bridge into a rich realm of marketable skills and experiences.

As an associate podcast producer and interviewer, my tasks revolved around listening, editing, and providing insight on interviews, with the end goal of conducting an interview myself. If it weren’t for my Internship Plus award, I would not have been able to accomplish as much as I had, considering I would’ve spent more time working in order to save for tuition and loans.

My internship experience has encouraged me to explore opportunities in media and content creation, in addition to podcasting and journalism.

Navigating the waters of such a wide-ranging realm of creative freedom has given me a unique opportunity to make an impact with artists and students on an international scale by advocating for the immersion of the creative arts in our daily lives.

Aashka interned at Trouvaiz

Trouvaiz’s Instagram page that Aashka managed

Being in the Marketing Honors program along with taking two other classes and taking on an internship was a challenge. It was very helpful doing an internship that gave me the freedom to take the marketing strategy the way I preferred.

This pandemic has put a financial strain on everyone, the Internship Plus Award scholarship was a huge help in lifting of that financial stress off of my shoulders. It allowed me to take on this internship which has greatly expanded my skills in social media marketing.

I have more confidence in my major and have a better idea of what i would like to do job wise for someone who is graduating next year.

COVID has rendered all financially fragile at the moment as jobs are hard to find and internships are not willing to pay. Getting closer to graduation you realize that you won’t have these opportunities of financial support while obtaining actual skills in your career. I would like to thank this program for giving me the opportunity to take on this internship especially in such a prime time as I am graduating next year.

Justin interned at Joel Hall Dancers & Center

I started a marketing and media internship with Joel Hall Dancers & Center at the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester. For 46+ years, Joel Hall has established a black-led non-profit organization that has focused on being an inclusive and diverse art incubation center. My job was to help them celebrate their rich jazz history, sharing Joel’s story via social media outlets, video editing, and digital marketing campaigns.

The internship and the Internship Plus award allowed me to use my knowledge to assist local art communities thrive.

My main goal with my digital marketing degree is to help local Chicago organizations create a professional online presence and build digital media content that reflects their identity. I believe through this Internship Plus Program, I was able to represent DePaul University and put our mission into action. Since DePaul is proudly a Chicago institution, it felt great working as an extension of DePaul to build off of what other great, local businesses Chicago has to offer.

Applications for the Spring Internship Plus program are now open. Apply on the Scholarship Connect by February 28th, 2021.

The 3 Must-Haves on Your Handshake Profile

Guidance Provided By: The Handshake Team

Want to quickly and easily increase your chances of finding the job you want on Handshake? Add your job interests to your profile.

When you fill in your interests, two really great things happen:

Handshake sends you better, more relevant job recommendations.
You’re more likely to have a recruiter message you! 80% of students who share their interests on Handshake receive a message from a recruiter. The more you include, the better your chances of having a recruiter find you.

That’s a pretty big return on not a lot of work. And the best part is—filling out your interests is as easy as sharing your opinion with us. Who knows what you like and don’t like better than you?

What are your job interests?

The “Your Interests” section of your Handshake profile includes:

Job type
Location
Job role

These are the most common fields that employers use to search for potential candidates—so including them in your profile is essential to getting recruited.

What are you looking for?

Job type: select part-time job, full-time job, or internship. Looking for a part-time job for now and an internship for next summer? You can select more than one job type, and we’ll share recommendations for each.
Job location: choose the cities that you’d like to live and work in. There are thousands of incredible employers on Handshake from every corner of the country, so we recommend being open to exploring jobs in a few different locations.
Job roles: select at least three job roles that interest you. We’ll give you suggestions based on your major, school and city. You can also search our job role pages to learn more about what you’d like to do.

You may be thinking “What if I don’t know what I’m looking for?” That’s ok. We’ll give you some suggestions. And, like the rest of your profile information, you can always change your interests later.

“Handshake helped me get two jobs so far. Unlike other sites where I have to dig through and filter out jobs, Handshake has jobs organized and sorted for you. It saves time and gives me a better understanding of the job I’m looking for.“

– Neha

Your Handshake profile is the key to finding jobs and internships that are right for you, and getting recruited by the employers you want to work for.

Ready to find the right job or internship for you? Log in to Handshake and fill in your interests today!

Meet Sadie Freedman, Product Manager at CancerIQ

The Health Care & Science (HCS) Career Community wants to introduce students to a wide range of careers. Students may be familiar with popular clinical roles (nurse, physician, veterinarian), but not with jobs like healthcare data analytics, health administration, or biotech research.

CancerIQ is a digital health startup company that helps health care providers “use genetic information to predict, pre-empt, and prevent disease – starting with cancer.” In this interview, Debbie Kaltman (HCS Employer Engagement Specialist) met with Sadie Freedman, a Product Manager at CancerIQ, to discuss her education and career journey, current job responsibilities, future goals in the health technology field, and insights to students.

Sadie’s background and passion for genetics and healthcare services allowed her to gain an internship with CancerIQ, which opened her to a world of new career opportunities in telehealth. In her full-time role as Project Manager, she works closely with CancerIQ’s sales, customer success, development, and marketing teams to oversee the products, take in and implement customer feedback, look into new product ideas, and improve current products. Inspired by CancerIQ’s software “pointing out patients that a provider never would have thought to do increased screenings on and catching cancers in earlier stages”, Sadie expressed that she has found a rewarding career that she plans to continue developing.

A valuable token of advice from Sadie for current students: “One thing I was missing as an undergraduate was awareness of potential career paths, so try to explore what is out there”.

Check out the full video below to learn more!

Don’t forget to visit CancerIQ’s Careers Page for their upcoming Summer Interships!

5 Easy Resolutions To Help You Get a Job or Internship This Year

Learn the path to getting hired on Handshake in 2021.

Guidance Provided By: The Handshake Team

New year, fresh start! If your resolution is to land a great job or internship, now is the perfect time to take action. And unlike some lofty goals that may fizzle by February, there are simple steps you can take now to see real results in your job search.

Here is your five step plan to fulfilling your job resolution in Handshake.