Name: Marissa Colella

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The Coordinating Center

Position Title: Communications Specialist

Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies

Expected Graduation Year: Fall 2016

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

The Coordinating Center is a nonprofit organization that works with people of all ages and abilities and those who support them to promote health, happiness, and meaningful community life. As a Communications Intern, I maintain and routinely update the organization's intranet site, write and maintain content for internal communication materials, conduct research when necessary, and craft various informational and promotional videos for both internal and external use. A typical day consists of checking the site for relevant updates, adding or removing online content as necessary, and working on the video projects at hand. Specific tasks and materials vary, so no two days are exactly the same!

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

The first thing I had to do to get ready was meet with someone from the Career Center. I had a resume to show, but it definitely needed to be updated and re-worked! Once my resume was suitable for the job search, I attended a few workshops and fairs on campus to gain experience and exposure. The workshop that I attended offered tips and tricks to use when networking, and the internship fair gave me a good sense of what was available and interesting to me. The fair was not only a chance to meet recruiters, but an opportunity to experience and get comfortable with introductions and interviews!

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

Working at The Coordinating Center has been a great experience, and one that I am thankful to be continuing. The Coordinating Center operates under an outstanding mission and everyone there is so compassionate and dedicated. I really enjoy the environment and the morale at the office. It’s been wonderful--I’m quite lucky!

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

Particularly with fundraising videos, my task is to help raise awareness of The Center's work so that clients of the organization may benefit from furthered donations. Money raised helps families and individuals with complex medical needs receive equipment and services necessary for their health and quality of life, so it’s great that I can work with The Coordinating Center in their mission to make a difference.

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

My advice would be to start the search early and keep on top of it to the best of your ability. If you find that you're interested in something but need more information or have specific questions, don't be afraid to send an introductory e-mail to the organization's HR department. Once you’ve landed an interview appointment, be sure to collect as much organizational knowledge as possible so that you’re ready to impress!

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Name: Chris-Anne Correa

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Mindgrub Technologies

Position Title: Associate User Experience Designer/Information Architect

Major(s)/Minor(s): Human Centered Computing Master's

Expected Graduation Year: May 2016

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

This summer I will be completing two years of interning with Mindgrub Technologies as a User Experience Designer/Information Architect. During the course of this internship, I have worked with clients on a variety of projects which has given me the opportunity to wireframe for websites, iPad, mobile and even smart watch applications. My responsibilities include:

• Sketching with my teammates as well as independently

• Deep dive brainstorming sessions with my teammates

• Research on the product, users, and competitors

• Creation of sitemaps and functional requirements

• Determination of Level of Effort (LOE) for the project

• Wireframing the product in iterations (typically 3 iterations which are then presented to clients)

• Internal presentation of my work to the team

• Ping Pong tournaments (Mindgrub loves Ping Pong)

To sum it up, I work with clients to define the problem, conduct research on the user’s needs and create a vision of the product.

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

In the first semester of my Masters program in Human Centered Computing, I heard about Mindgrub through one of my class project mentors - Cassie Thompson from Student Support Services. I researched the company and found the type of work they do very appealing. I also liked their work environment and noticed that they had a User Experience team. I was excited about the prospect of working with them, so I sent them an email inquiring if they would consider hiring me as an intern on their User Experience Team. Human Resources at Mindgrub responded saying that they are always looking for interns and that they would get back to me about any potential opportunities that may arise. A few weeks later they emailed me saying that they now have an internship available on the User Experience Team and were interviewing candidates. I interviewed with them towards the end of my first semester as a grad student and started working with them during the summer of 2014.

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

I have enjoyed the company’s fun and enthusiastic work environment the most - many ping pong tournaments, monthly meetings with catered lunches, and plenty of team building outings. My favorite part is that interns are given hands on work with clients which has given me the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects. This has enabled me to develop the skills and experience I need early on in my career.

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

One of my favorite mobile application projects that I worked on was a social project that helped prevent newly released prisoners from recidivism. I was able to design an experience that best suited their needs and helped connect them with resources like jobs, health care, food, and housing in their neighborhood. It made me happy knowing that my work was going to make a social impact by helping the users of this application to get back on their feet.

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

My advice is that it is very important to gain experience in your field while in school. It helps you define your career path and gives you a sense of direction. If you like your internship experience, it helps you understand what you want to do after you graduate. On the other hand, if you dislike your internship experience, it helps you narrow down your career choices. I feel both outcomes are a win-win situation and any experience you gain whether good or bad, you learn something from it. If you come across a company or an organization that you would like to work with and you don’t see any open intern positions, don’t hesitate to contact them expressing your interest. That’s what landed me my internship.

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Name: Gabrielle Salib

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The Prototyping and Design Lab

Position Title:Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major(s)/Minor(s):Interdisciplinary Studies

Expected Graduation Year:May 2017

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

In the PAD lab, we’re all about making people’s lives better or easier through the use of 3D printing and modeling. My research assistantship involves working with a team of graduate students from the lab, conducting a weekly 3D modeling and printing workshop for elementary school students. As an added challenge, the students we are working with are struggling in more than one area including behavior, academics, attendance, and/or social and emotional well-being.

We are currently doing observations of their perceptions of the 3D environment and their experiences interacting with the technology in collaborative ways, in order to assess potential purposes in improving the collaborative, elementary classroom experience

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

I obtained my research assistantship by first contacting Dr. Amy Hurst about being involved in the lab. She then invited me to attend the PAD lab’s weekly meeting to find a project that I would be most interested in working on and I got started with one of her graduate students Erin Buehler right away!

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

What I've enjoyed most about my position is the exposure to the inevitable intersection of technology and how it affects the people using it!  I find it amazing that through research and proven methods we could improve that interaction to be more effective, yet just as natural as the interactions that we have always had through time.

I’ve enjoyed my work on research very much, but I’ve also really enjoyed the community that the lab has created. It’s a place where you can always find someone to talk about a problem with or to learn about opportunities to further your interests. The people in the PAD are the best.

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

I believe I've made an impact with my team by interacting with the local community to encourage utilizing new technology to better the classroom experience and exploring the possibilities of customizing their own classroom materials.

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

Advice I would give another student who is seeking a research experience is to keep a keen eye for opportunities and to allow his or herself to be in the position to be involved in activities that he or she is truly passionate in their academic and social lives.

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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!