Name: Jennifer Montooth

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Maryland Psychiatric Research Institute Peer Review Program | Title of Your Position: Research Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): History, Political Science

Expected Graduation Year: December 2015

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

The Peer Review Program helps low-income families in inner city Baltimore receive medication for their children with Schizophrenia. The researchers help make sure the children are efficiently getting the proper amount of medication. When I assist the researchers, I help them organize and file all of the patients' information in alphabetical order and send out their charts to the proper offices and hospitals to ensure that every patient gets the proper care.

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

I found my internship through UMBCWorks and was enthralled in the idea. Once I submitted my resume, I had a phone interview with the supervisor. She was curious as to why a history and political science major would want to help a psychiatric program. I explained to her, however, that I was very interested in pursuing a Public Policy degree once I graduate, and am very interested in learning about successful programs such as the Peer Review Program. I also told her about my research paper from a previous semester regarding the lack of mental health funding and assistance in Baltimore City prisons, and how it would help the city in several ways if inmates got proper treatments for their disorders. My excitement about the program and learning about mental health helped me get the internship almost on the spot.

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

UMBCworks

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

I love the people in the program, they're all very passionate about what they do, and it feels motivating to be around them. I learn more each day about all of the processes and steps it takes to keep the program running and proving their efficiency in order to continue receiving funding. Once a week I also get to meet with a doctor and a group of Schizophrenia patients at one of their education sessions, where the patients learn more about their disorder. I had never encountered anyone with Schizophrenia before, so it's been amazing to interact with the patients and learn more from the doctors.

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

I would advise them to think outside of the box, and think towards the future. This internship is a little far off from my major, but it keeps me constantly learning, which makes every day a new experience. I did a research paper that got me motivated to help mental health programs a year ago, and wanted to get more involved, but had no idea how. I feel like I have more understanding of what I want to do once I graduate thanks to this internship.

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

Everyone involved in helping me receive credit for this internship, including Jeremiah Sawyer and my professor Michele Wolff, have been nothing but encouraging and helpful the whole time, which makes this experience all the better.

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Name: Imani Spence

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Mindgrub Technologies | Title of Your Position: Associate Creative Copywriter (Marketing Intern)

Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies and English: Communication and Technology track

Expected Graduation Year: May 2016

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

I work on a lot of things at Mindgrub. The main focus of my position is doing research on potential clients that the company may contact as well as researching attendees for conferences that the President may attend. Sometimes I draft speech proposals for those conferences as well. I also keep up with all of their social media accounts, including LinkedIn to post relevant information on events, products and industry news.

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

I found this internship through UMBCWorks. I applied with a resume, writing sample and Cover Letter then I had a phone interview. During that interview we talked about my prior experiences and what I hope to gain from the internship. Then I came in for an in-person interview and brought materials such as PDF versions of email newsletters I designed, video samples and graphic layouts.

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

Career Center, UMBCworks

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

Mindgrub is FULL of UMBC alum. I have been really lucky to talk to them about their experiences at UMBC and see how I can take my UMBC education further. The company culture is also super amazing. Mindgrub is really into Ping-Pong and the company is small enough that everyone knows each other and gets along fairly well.

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

I learned how companies assess their potential client-base and what a typical workflow is like. In my last two internships I was the only intern, or the first intern, so working with other interns and within a process that already exists.

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

GO TO THE CAREER CENTER. I have met with someone from the career center a few times and every time I go in a little panicked and confused, I come out with great ideas and I feel much better. The Career Center works so hard to make sure that every student has as many opportunities as possible, and it's part of their job to help you navigate the career search, USE THEM!

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

Apply for it all. I applied for about 15 internships before receiving this one, and the summer before I applied to about the same and got two different internships. Once you get the hang of the application process, it's easy.

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