Sue Plitt

Role at the UMBC Career Center: Connecting Employers to UMBC Students

 Q: Where have you earned your college degrees?

A: University of Maryland, University College - Adelphia, MD

Q: What program(s) did you study? How did you choose your major?

A: History for undergraduate followed by a Master of Business Administration. I chose to study History as I have always been a History buff and at the time I was pursuing the degree, my three children were in K-8 programs...a lot of my research projects included family trips to historical sites! The MBA program was chosen as it gave me the opportunity to become familiar with the mechanics involved in running an organization in both the private industry and government sectors.

Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

A: The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. 

Q: Why should students visit the Career Center?

A: Because believe it or not, we know what we are talking about AND work very hard to offer services, programs and events that will help lead you to a successful career!

Q: What is one item on your bucket list?

A: To sleep in a yurt at the side of a cliff in Big Sur, CA

Q: What is one aspect of the DC/Baltimore area that you often explore?

A: The many, many, many historical sites and museums that are in the area.

Want to connect with Sue or any of our great Career Center team? Call our office at 410-455-2216 or check out our contact us page here: http://careers.umbc.edu/aboutus/

Writing an Effective Email

Name: Andreas Seas

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: University of Nebraska Medical Center | Title of Your Position: Student Researcher

Major(s)/Minor(s): Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering Track

Expected Graduation Year: May, 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

This summer, I interned at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the department of Vascular Surgery. My main project was to design a program to analyze microscopic cross sections of arteries and determine certain characteristics of their elastic microstructure. I also had to see if any risk factors or demographics correlated with characteristics of this microstructure. The ultimate goal of this project was to allow doctors to use patient information to get an idea of the condition of their patients arteries. In order to retrieve more data for this project, I also spent a significant amount of my time dissecting human arteries and testing their mechanical properties. Another project of mine involved performing comparative genomic studies to isolate mutations responsible for causing abdominal aortic aneurysms. Finally, when time permitted, I was able to shadow surgeons in the operating room, and see what the real life of a surgeon is like!

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

Essentially, I searched Google for MD/PhD summer undergraduate research programs and found the University of Nebraska Medical Center's program among my results. Like most other internships, it involved an extensive process of filling out forms and writing essays.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Google Search

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

Honestly, I enjoyed being a part of a lot of unique projects. It was extremely fulfilling to work with so many dedicated and interesting individuals, and to be able to make my own unique contribution to the scientific community.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

This summer, I was able to improve my ability to think creatively and come up with new ideas. My lab environment was extremely open and collaborative - all ideas were considered. Also, I gained significant experience dissecting human tissue, as well as a fair amount of knowledge of procedures in vascular surgery.

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

My advice would be to apply to as many places as possible, even if some of them seem like long-shots. First, you never know what will happen, maybe they are looking for somebody just like you. Second, the more practice the better - none of the experience filling out applications goes to waste when you eventually have to write grant proposals.

Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

I liked that I could have a good conversation with anybody in my department. It was also amazing to be able to contribute to scientific knowledge!

Challenging, Paid Summer Internships(9270049)
Noblis - Falls Church, Virginia

Guided and mentored by our expert staff (including former interns!), Noblis summer interns augment their classroom learning with hands on project work in:

•           Modeling and simulation
•           Cyber security
•           Systems engineering
•           Computer science
•           Biometric technologies
•           Life and chemical/biological sciences
•           Telecommunications
•           Human Resources and Business Services
•           …and more!

Communications Internship(9269959)
GreekYearbook - Hunt Valley, Maryland

Are you interested in Event Planning, Public Relations, Customer Service, or Account Management? Through our Communications Internship, you’ll gain real-life work experience in all these fields!

GreekYearbook is a leading photography company that works with thousands of students in fraternities and sororities across the country!

Parks and People Foundation has recently posted over 15 different internships this week in UMBCworks.

Sample Postings include:
Spring 2015 - Infrastructure and Utility Mapping for Patterson Park
Spring 2015 - Outlining A Marketing Strategy for TreeBaltimore
Spring 2015 - Administrative Policy and Planning Intern
Spring 2015 - Development of an Operational & Marketing Plan for a Family Oriented Recreation Center
Spring 2015 - Outdoor Recreation Activities/Health Baltimore Initiative

To find these posts and more go to UMBCworks and under “Employers” select “Employer Directory.” Search “Parks & People Foundation” and then click “available positions.”

Spring 2015- Conservation Cataloging & Digitization Intern (9269871)
The Walters Art Museum - Baltimore , Maryland

Assist in the digitization and electronic cataloging of conservation documents and images associated with the examination and treatment of museum objects. Primary Tasks Under the supervision of the Database Administrator, and in conjunction with the Conservation Division Assistant and Conservators the intern will manage the digitization and categorization of data and more!

Human Resources and Corporate Recruiting Internship (9269942)
AFLAC - College Park, Maryland

Aflac is seeking a part time Human Resources & Corporate Recruiting intern for the College Park office. Interns will receive extensive training in corporate benefits as well as healthcare reform. Core responsibilities are as follows:
•           manage office job postings at local universities
•           evaluate candidates through phone and email conversations
•           and more!

Government Affairs Intern (9269760)
Maxim Healthcare Services - Columbia, Maryland

The Government Affairs team is looking for a singular paid intern for the spring semester who will work with the team 10-20 hours per week. The intern will immediately become an integral member of the team, who will produce actionable materials the regional government affairs directors in the field will immediately rely on.

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To access these positions, login to your UMBCworks account (via the link in the Jobs & Internships topic in myUMBC) and find details and application instructions as well as hundreds of other job postings! Please note you MUST have an approved resume and be released to apply to internships. To schedule an appointment, access our online system in UMBCworks or call 410-455-2216.

Jessica Moreno

Role at the UMBC Career Center: I am the Social Media Intern at the Career Center. I essentially make sure all important career related events are up to date on the Career Center's myumbc group. I also post about career events, job and internship opportunities, as well as create social media content for the Career Center's Facebook and Twitter accounts. I also highlight important career tips that students can benefit from as well as highlighting student achievement by sharing "Intern of the Week" content on social media.

Major: Media and Communication Studies

Minor: American Studies

How did you choose your major?

I want to do something with journalism, I love blogging, and I am interested in being a reporter so for me, MCS was the closest major that relates to my career interests.

Tell me about the job and internship process. Were you able to find job/internship positions that are related to your major or your career interests?

Besides working at the Career Center, I had the chance to work for a non-profit in Baltimore called Art With a Heart this past summer.  I'm currently looking for part-time internship opportunities before I graduate, but I am also in the process of looking for a full-time job (*fingers crossed*).

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." – Steve Jobs

Finally, talk about the Career Center and what it has to offer? What has been most beneficial to you?

The Career Center has resources to help students with their internship and job search.  I encourage students, especially freshman, to get a head start and meet with a career advisor if you are unsure about your career interests. Going to career events has given me a better understanding of how recruiters hire candidates. Plus, I go in to have my resume/cover letter reviewed (which takes a long time to complete if you decide to do it on your own).

What is your favorite aspect about UMBC?

I like that UMBC is not too big but not too small of a campus, we are tight-knit community. UMBC is also diverse and it’s great getting to see and meet new people every semester.

What is one item on your bucket list?

Getting the chance to scuba dive in the city of Okinawa in Japan (long story here)!

What is one aspect of the DC/Baltimore area that you often explore?

I live close to DC and I love going to see the Cherry Blossoms in the spring. Plus, I like getting DC cupcakes from Georgetown, they are great!

Have questions? Want to connect with the Career Center team? Call our office at 410-455-2216 or check out our page here: careers.umbc.edu/index

Make sure to follow the Career Center on Facebook, Twitter, and the myumbc group for career events and announcements!

“So, What Can you do with Your Major?”

The Holidays are quickly approaching. Many of us will be traveling and visiting family and friends. Some of us may go to holiday parties filled with our parents’ friends and people we typically only see once a year. At all of these events you are more than likely going to be asked “So what do you want to do with your major?” you’ll probably be asked more than once. 

If you aren't quite sure what you want to do with your degree yet, this is probably a very frustrating question. When you answer that you aren't quite sure yet, you’ll get responses that almost definitely indicate that your relatives think you are doing nothing but sleeping in or going to parties. Other possible responses include your neighbor beginning to tell you how she ended up working at her dead end job that she hates, or your mom’s best friend telling you how wonderful her son is doing at college. No matter the response you get you probably won’t end up finding your dream career over Thanksgiving dinner or at that awkward holiday party. 

I am a biology major and I have known for a while that I want to work with animals in some way. I absolutely loved the vacation I took with my family to Yellowstone National Park. I told my relatives that I really liked the idea of working with the wildlife, like at Yellowstone. They then proceeded to think I wanted to be a forest ranger. For years they thought I wanted to be a forest ranger until they asked me about how UMBC was preparing me to be a forest ranger. I looked at them so confused! 

My career path has changed many times since I have been at UMBC. I wanted to be a bioengineer, then a veterinarian, then a geneticist, then I wanted to do something more computational, then I wanted to do biomedical research, and now I am applying to graduate school to study evolutionary biology.

Your career path is not always clear cut. You may even change majors from biology to chemistry and then from chemistry to economics, and then from economics to global studies. If you aren't sure what you want to do, come to the Career Center and set up an appointment and we can help you identify possible career paths related to your interests.

If you don’t want to end up hiding in the corner with your older sister who graduated over a year ago and still doesn't have a job, then come to the Career Center. You can also check out some of the career exploration tools on our website like the Woofound Compass which is a quick and easy personality assessment. And the Focus 2 is an excellent self-assessment tool that uses your interests, personality, skills, and values to develop a long list of possible careers. The Focus 2, along with career advisement provided by Career Specialists, can help you clarify your career path. We have several other career assessment tools on our website that you may find useful as well.