Name:Jamie Denton

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Girls’ Life Magazine

Position Title: Editorial Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): English B.A/ Media & Communication Studies

Work Term:Summer 2018

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

One of my responsibilities was to write articles pertaining to fashion, beauty, fitness, books, and lifestyle for the Girls' Life website, which were published on a weekly basis. Additionally, I assisted in planning content for the Girls' Life website by brainstorming original and creative article ideas. I also became familiar with the inner workings of journalism by transcribing interviews and networking with people in the industry.

One cooling thing about my internship is that I had the privilege of working a music and festival event that was in partnership with iHeartRadio’s z104.3 and sponsored by L.A. Colors. It was extremely fascinating to be behind the scenes and see how companies collaborate and hold huge promotional events. I even got to work with the clothing brand Aeropostale, talk to some of the representatives, and forge relationships with people in similar industries. Plus, I got to take home a bunch of free items!

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I looked on the UMBCworks website around late April, which is where I heard of the position. Then I took my resume to the Career Center, where it was carefully looked over, and I was given constructive feedback. After polishing my resume, writing a cover letter, and submitting three writing samples, I applied for the position a few days later.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?

Getting my articles published on the Girls' Life Website and getting featured in the magazine (it’s incredibly rewarding to see my name in print)!

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe that I've served as a role model for young girls by writing articles that inspire and give advice to teens in order to facilitate their success in the world.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Use UMBCworks to help you find an internship or job opportunity! I wouldn’t have had my internship if it wasn’t for them. Also, don’t be afraid to go to the Career Center; it’s an incredibly helpful resource to improve your resume and strengthen your interview skills.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

Welcome, or welcome back, to UMBC! To most, 90-degree weather and steadfastly green trees don’t really feel like the beginning of the school year, but believe it or not, here we are. I hope you’re at least a tiny bit excited for your new semester.

I’m always torn between excitement and stress. I filled my calendar with due dates and exams, but looking at it makes me realize how much I have to do. Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. I’m Emily, a third-year computer science major with minors in Mandarin and creative writing. I work as a Career Peer Advisor here at the UMBC Career Center, and this year I’m going to be handling our weekly blog posts. At the Career Center, we specialize in getting you all jobs, and more important than that, a job you might actually enjoy. Have no idea what field to go into? We have tools and appointments for that. Need a summer internship? We have specialists to guide you along the way. Want to have an internship showcased on your transcript? We do that too. Stop by the second floor of Math and Psych any weekday from 2 pm- 4 pm to get resumes reviewed, UMBCworks questions answered, and cover letters edited.

Now before you launch straight into classwork, it’s helpful to take time and evaluate what you did over the summer. Service projects you completed, jobs you had, internship experience, it can all be useful when redoing a resume. And I know that those summer experiences look different for everyone, so I’ll try and break it down a little.

If you had a job or internship, there are a few important things to do before you forget everything in the haze of school projects. First, add the experience to your resume. If you’re not sure how exactly to do that, we have tons of resume examples on our website. Second, consider reaching out to your direct supervisor. Thank them for an informative summer and generally explain how much the experience meant to you. This is a great way to accumulate references for your next application.

If you had a job or internship not related to what you’re studying, the two steps above are also very important to you. I know it might not seem like it, but by maintaining a summer job, you’re cultivating professionalism and work ethic that will help you in your field for years to come. While you’re editing your resume, think about any skills you gained that might transfer to the field you want to work in. Maybe as an office assistant, you got a lot of experience with spreadsheets. Maybe as a retail worker, you helped organize schedules and shifts so that your colleagues stayed happy. These all look wonderful in a job description.

If you didn't work over the summer,there are still a lot of thing to consider. Volunteer experience, extracurriculars, new computer skills, and personal projects in your field of study are all important to have on resumes. Take a few minutes, brainstorm a list of your accomplishments, then take a look our career guide to figure out how to showcase what you did.

Here at the Career Center, we also had a productive summer. We have a new resource for students: Big Interview. Sign in with your UMBC login and you have access to their database of interview questions. You can even record yourself answering interview questions and get feedback from a Career Center team member through email. It’s a great practice tool for those who get a little nervous while interviewing.

Now that your summer is all summarized (see what I did there), you’re ready to hit the ground running. There are lots of big and exciting things coming up, from the Career Fair, to On the Roads with companies like Morgan Stanley, to panels with representatives from T. Rowe Price. Till next week, I’m your friendly neighborhood Career Peer. I wish you all a smooth start to the semester, and I hope we see you soon!

Hey, everyone! Welcome back! I hope you guys enjoyed your summer.

Just a quick reminder to come visit the ISSA booth at Involvement fest on 9/12 from 12 - 3pm. and come say Hi!

Some fun facts and benefits for joining Information Systems Security Association:

• Become a member of the ISSA, it looks great on any resume
• Learn about bleeding edge security measures
• Network and find career opportunities
• Meet the ISSA executive board
• Stay involved on campus

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at Involvement fest! We have a lot planned for this semester!

~ ISSA Executive Board

Name:Genevieve Ahearn

Internship, Co-op or Research Site:U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Position Title:Directorate Resource Assistant Fellow

Major(s)/Minor(s):Biology

Work Term:Summer 2018

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

The magnificent ramshorn is North America's largest air-breathing freshwater snail endemic to two counties in North Carolina. It is believed to be extinct in the wild with only two captive populations in existence and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. I have had the privilege of working on a plan to reintroduce the snail back into the wild. I started out reading everything there was to know about the snail. I summarized different methods of deciding where and how to reintroduce the snail into one document. I then spent a lot of time speaking with experts on what they thought would be the best method and worked with partner organizations to come to an agreement on what the next steps should be. I cultivated relationships with land managers in order to spread awareness about the snails status and to broaden the snails horizons as to where it could be released. More recently, I've been visiting potential reintroduction sites to decide if the water has just the right chemistry to move forward with testing water suitability on the snails. We've found a few spots, but this snail's a tricky one!

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

A professor sent out an email to all students majoring in GES at UMBC about the opportunity in mid-February. I actually had missed the original deadline, but luckily it was extended. I had applied to lots of positions before this one, and my resume had been reviewed by a lot of older friends that had already gone through the process. Of course I still ended up submitting my application at the very last moment, which is very stressful and I would not recommend it. I got a phone interview, and I immediately booked a practice interview with UMBC's Career Center. I asked to be recorded for future reference and I'm so glad I did. I never realized how overly self-deprecating I sounded and how bad my posture was in an effort to be non-threatening. Not only that, but they asked tough questions and gave me feedback on my answers and tips for thinking on the fly in the future. It definitely boosted my confidence for the interviews and helped me during the interview for this position. It's worth trying if you've never interviewed before.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?

If you love animals and ever want to make an impact, work for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They are on the front lines of protecting species habitats and cultivating relationships with all kinds of people to make protecting biodiversity a universal issue.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I had a few people ask me this summer how I justify what I am trying to do. Most people wouldn't care about a snail going extinct because they're not especially cute and cuddly and they do not strictly speaking perform an obvious service for humans. But that's exactly why I've liked this position. I've gotten to give a voice to something that normally gets overlooked. Snail diversity is diminishing at a very fast rate from mostly human causes, and that's all I need to know. Even if a species function isn't obvious, it more often than not plays a role in its ecosystem that would lead to a reduction in ecosystem function without it. Except mosquitoes. Nobody likes them.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Never give up! I applied to sooo many positions, and got so many no's but all it takes is one yes!

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Name:Ashley Batista

Internship, Co-op or Research Site:University Health Services/Office of Health Promotion

Position Title: Peer Health Educator

Major(s)/Minor(s):Biology/Africana Studies

Work Term:Fall 2017

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

As a peer, I work to reach out to the UMBC community through events, programs, and workshops to educate students regarding a variety of health issues. We work to provide students with information about sleep deprivation, alcohol and other drugs, sexual health and birth control, just to name a few topics. We teach common strategies to make better healthy decisions as well as bring awareness to the resources provided to them on and off campus.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I heard about this position through an email sent by the Internships & Employment Team in the Career Center stating that Peer Health Educators were wanted and that applications were being taken. I filled out the application and sent it in to my now supervisor by April 28th. One or two weeks later I was contacted in regards to making an interview appointment. I went to the interview and a couple weeks later, I received the "congratulations" email confirming my position for the upcoming year.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?

I've enjoyed being able to educate students on critical health issues that are prevalent among college students and show them ways to better themselves and the UMBC community in the hopes of influencing lifelong healthy choices beyond their college years. I also enjoy being able to work with a supportive group of people who also believe in providing guidance within health.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe that I've been able to give students more of a choice when it comes to their autonomy over their health. We're so stuck in the everyday routine of school, work, internship, study, volunteer, etc. that we forget we have the choice to do something different and make healthy decisions for ourselves. We can make choices for the benefit of ourselves and for others.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

I would advise them to be diligent and persistent if they want to see results. I would also advise them to keep an open mind because these experiences may help shape whether or not this is a career area they want to be in.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week?Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!