Name: Jessica Moreno
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Art With a Heart | Title of Your Position: Social Media and Documentation Intern
Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies (MCS) / American Studies
Expected Graduation Year: May 2015
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
For this internship, I was assigned to travel to various sites and document the art classes that Art with a Heart offers during the summer through photography. Art with a Heart is a non-profit organization that works to enhance the lives of people in need through visual art. They bring their 7,500 visual art classes to abused, neglected and abandoned children; homeless people; battered women and their children; pregnant adolescents; mentally and physically disabled adults; low-income senior citizens; elementary, middle, and high school students; youth in after-school programs; and children receiving long-term health care. Not only did I have to travel to the art classes, I had to build relationships with the participants in order to gain their trust in order for me to photograph them and their artwork. I created numerous content such as photos and videos and managed their Instagram account.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I knew that I wanted to do an internship over the summer and since I am an intern at the Career Center, I knew that UMBCworks was the place to start my internship search. I searched for positions that I knew I was interested in and I applied online. Through UMBCworks, I landed my internship at Art with a Heart.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
Career Center and UMBCworks.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I enjoyed documenting the artwork that all the students worked on during the summer. I was able to communicate and talk to the participants and with the art teachers from Art with a Heart. I also enjoyed the editing process such as doing work on Photoshop and Sony Vegas to edit photos and create videos.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
I would say the relationships I made with the staff and the participants. The staff from Art with a Heart is doing life changing work for those in need and it was nice for me to spend time with them and learn more about the organization and its history.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I strongly encourage students to meet with a career advisor at the Career Center if they are unsure on how to start the internship/job search process. I was worried that I would not be able to get an internship so for me, it was important to ask questions. After all, the Career Center is there to help us students succeed!
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
Do not be discouraged if you do not land an internship the first time. Be persistent and apply for multiple positions because in the end, you will obtain one. It just takes time and perseverance!
]]>Name: Chinedu Okeke
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Chevron | Title of Your Position: IT Business/Planning Analyst
Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Engineering
Expected Graduation Year: May 2015
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
I was an IT Business/Planning Analyst in Chevron's Information Technology Department. Generally speaking, my duties consisted of business planning, financial management, performance reporting and process improvement.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I applied to the internship position online. The resources that aided me were the resume help and mock interview session.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
Career Center
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I enjoyed the fact that I was provided the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to the overall success of Chevron.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
Through this internship experience, I've gained a better understanding of how to direct my passion and professional interests into a fulfilling career.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Don't be intimidated by challenging job positions or "big name" companies. If you're truly interested in the position you intend to take, then go for it! Even if you think you lack the experience to perform well, your drive and enthusiasm will definitely make up for it.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
Through interning at a fast-paced, multinational company such as Chevron, I've gained insights on how to pursue my intended career choice.
]]>Name: Amanda Pyryt
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: CAT Vehicle REU at the University of Arizona | Title of Your Position: REU Participant
Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Science
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.
This summer, I traveled out to the University of Arizona to participate in the CATVehicle Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) with 8 other people to work on a self-driving car. I was assigned a project to work on with a partner, and we created a component that switches between different controllers while the car is driving depending on its current behavior. We also created a modeling language that generates code for our component and allows the set of states of the vehicle and their entry conditions to be easily added or changed at a later point in time. After we finished that, we implemented some controllers and tested them with our component.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I actually found the website for this research experience on my own from the NSF website, which lists many different REU's all over the country. I did have help from the Career Center with editing my resume and personal statement.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
NSF website
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I enjoyed learning new skills and applying what I've learned in my classes to research in an exciting field. Developing software that will eventually be used to assist in operation of an autonomous vehicle is very exciting! I also liked that our research program had many interesting talks and visits from people in our field as well as classes in professional skills and advice about getting into graduate school.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
The opportunity to do research at another university on the opposite side of the country was awesome. I met many new people and professionals who conduct research in my area of interest. This experience gave me a glimpse into the field of academia and showed me what graduate school is like. I also enjoyed exploring a new area with a group of new friends!
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Find an internship that does work that you find interesting, and don't be afraid to leave your home state to get there!
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
This research opportunity has given me the opportunity to work in an emerging field and has taught me so much about the field of Computer Science and Engineering.
]]>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!
]]>Name: Laquazia Bell
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Independent Can
Major(s)/Minor(s): Mathematics; Acturarial Track
Expected Graduation Year: 2016
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
As the lithography technical intern at Independent Can my first project is to find the main causes to Lost Time on their 6-unit press. Currently I have found all issues, narrowed the list to 3 main issues to focus on, determined their root causes, and now I am brainstorming and researching on solutions to eliminate or minimize Lost Time.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I live in an area that is home to many industrial companies. I looked through Google Maps to search the companies in my immediate area since I am limited by my mode of transportation. I narrowed the companies down to ones I'd be interested in and visited their web pages or searched through various job search engines to see if they had any job postings. On independent cans website I found the posting for the internship I now have and applied. To prepare for my interview I was unaware of the mock interview I could have gotten through the school. Instead to prepare I used resources another company I applied with, Accountemps, had online that gave advice on how to prepare for interviews. It was incredibly helpful and made me feel and look a bit more prepared and competent during my interview.
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?
The open atmosphere. It is my first position in a professional setting and I appreciate that at Independent Can. I am able to wean myself into the business instead of being thrust into it.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
Time to build myself. Right now I am tasked to come up with solutions to the issues that I have found, I have a deadline but I am given plenty of room to think, everyone makes me feel comfortable enough to ask the questions I need answered in order for me to come to conclusions, regardless how tedious my questioning.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
If you can, take the time to ask the questions you need to get your job done right. It's an internship and we're supposed to be learning so when we start our careers we're prepared.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
Living in a how-its-made episode everyday while learning the basics for my future career.
]]>Name: Stephen Moore
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: GE Oil & Gas
Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Engineering, Mathematics
Expected Graduation Year: May 2015
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
As an ITLP intern, I was tasked with managing my own goals for the summer. Examples include developing a new project methodology to use as a standard, contributing to staff meetings and developing new websites, applications and tools for the office.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
My interview with General Electric was set up through UMBCworks. That single, in-depth interview was followed up immediately with an official offer.
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?
Working at GE has been a very diverse experience. I was entrusted with tasks that made a significant impact on the office I was involved with. Being able to gain real experience in project management and product development was a fantastic part of my internship.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
The trust GE places in us interns was astounding. I was treated as a fellow manager instead of "The Intern." This unique atmosphere was something I have not experienced anywhere else. As such, it allowed me to gain experience working in a high-risk position with actual responsibilities - something that most internships do not offer.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
If you are interested in joining the ITLP program, enter it with an open and inquisitive mind. There are no set tasks for you to perform, no standard job responsibilities to fulfill; this is a position wherein you define what you want to take away from GE.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
I received an email about an interview that I "may find interesting," and decided to follow up. That surprise interview turned into my most rewarding summer yet and changed my entire job outlook for when I graduate. So yeah, that was pretty cool.
]]>Name: Valeriya Nakshun
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The Rosen Group
Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies
Expected Graduation Year: June 2016
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
I had my internship over the summer at the Rosen Group, which is a company that produces the "American Made Show," a wholesale art/trade show. I was hired at the beginning of the fall to work part-time as an Exhibits Coordinator. My day-to-day responsibilities include printing exhibitor applications, looking through their works of art whether it be ceramics, jewelry, fiber, glass, or 2-dimensional art. I put everything together, carefully reviewing the applications to make sure they really are American-made, and prep the applications for final review. I'm half of a two-person team in the Exhibitor Services department, which handles all exhibitor-related issues including payments, answering questions, assigning booths, and mailing out contracts among other things.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I actually found it on my own via the internships.com website. I received a positive response on my resume from the owner of the company so she sent me an email with her phone number to contact her. I did and we set up the interview and I was hired on the spot.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
On my own online.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I love the fact that I work with artists. It keeps me sane. I look at art every single day when looking through applications, and at the end of the day, I know that the company I work for helps artists sell their work and display it to a much larger audience. My minor is Art History and Museum Studies, and I plan to go to grad school later on for Curatorial or Museum Studies, so this experience will open up a lot of doors in the art world for me.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
Not only do I get to work with artists, but I work with artists all around the United States and Canada. It's great exposure. Another thing I gained is experience with different marketing and database software. We utilize a lot of different websites and software where I work. I work with software called InfusionSoft, a website called A2Z, and an application called FileMaker Pro. It's really great that I have experience working with all these technologies in one area, so it makes me a lot more employable in the future.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I would say to look everywhere. Use UMBCWorks but also look online. Google art organizations and see which ones are looking for interns, volunteers, or employees. If you have a particular place where you want to intern or work, contact the business directly and ask if anything is available. Also, make sure you have at least the general knowledge to do well in the field.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
I like going to work and feeling like my work is valued, and that I'm part of a show that helps artists exhibit their work and make a living.
]]>Name: Gretchen Quiteles
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)
Major(s)/Minor(s): Health Administration and Policy
Expected Graduation Year: December 2014
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
When I come in I assist Hilary Strahota, the Senior Specialist of Communications. Since I've started I have transcribed an audio interview she had with one of the Emergency and Preparedness personnel from the CDC (Center for Disease Control). I have also been helping her keep track of the publications for the upcoming fiscal year. A big project I will be working on throughout my internship is sorting through all the photos the association has had since the beginning and determining which ones will be used for future publications. Responsibilities I have is to assist with the APHL twitter account, help proofread and edit publications, research images for articles and create weekly e-newsletter updates when needed.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
This past summer I was on many job search engines and learned about Indeed. I didn't think I would be able to find an internship to my liking but when I found the internship position I applied immediately. When they sent me an e-mail about a phone screening for the position I prepped myself. I did the same prep for the team interviews that followed. I usually prep by reading through my resumes, reviewing my LinkedIn profile and thinking about my past leadership skills in organizations. After I prep I think of possibly interview questions and create answers that would strengthen my application. But before the phone screening and interviews, I always sat myself down and took a deep breath so I could relax. That's how I knew I wanted the position the most and it definitely helps.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
Indeed.com
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I really enjoyed learning how influential this association is to public health. I never knew that this association is the reason why the CDC receives funding and how they retrieve the data needed to send out the public. Every time I come into the office I feel as if I learn something new about current public health issues and I love it!
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
Everyone in the workplace has their own work ethic and personality that creates a team. With each personality it can really strengthen a team. Diversity is what is needed the most to achieve a lot.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Always listen to your gut. Never give up applying to places. I was rejected by many internships that I thought would be perfect for me and when I got the offer for APHL I was happy the other places rejected me.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
Working with an open mind can take you further than you can imagine.
]]>Name: Anil Jangam
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: FutureWei Technologies - Santa Clara, CA
Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Science
Expected Graduation Year: Master Student - December 2014
Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.
Internet with its current architecture/design, is becoming insufficient to cope up with the ever increasing bandwidth demands. As per the Moor's law, the computing and storage capability is increasing faster than the evolution of the core network. The increasing use of smart phones is also putting additional load onto the network. I could study some of these network related challenges to a greater detail, and the approaches research and engineering communities are devising to meet these demands. As an intern, I got the opportunity to work with a team of researchers at FutureWei, on a project in systems and algorithmic research in content delivery network architectures. The project involves using and extending existing open source tools to specify and prototype storage and distribution of content over a LAN-wide and in particular, how to distribute video streams.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
Since I knew my requirements, I searched for the people and companies on Linkedin who were working in the area of my interests. After shortlisting, I wrote the email to each individual with my resumes, and followed each one of them for sometime before getting a call for further discussion. Overall it took about two months to get an offer letter.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
Career Center, LinkedIn
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
Learning the problems through existing work being done in form of research papers, brainstorming and discussions, and eventually developing the systems to demonstrate the problem itself and the solutions. Enjoyed most on developing prototypes using various different opensource tools with corss platform deployments. Enjoyed coding in Java, C++ etc.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
Research experience! FutureWei being a US R&D center of Huwwei, focuses mainly on researching the problems and proposing the solutions to them. Currently I am also in the process of documenting and publishing the work being done at a IEEE research conference. We are going to submit our work in form of a research paper.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Having worked in an industry on live projects before coming for full-time MS studies, I knew what I wanted to do. The same experience also helped me land an internship at FutureWei precisely in the domain area I wanted to be in. I certainly recommend to everyone to know your goals ahead of time and I would say, half the battle is already won! It's a win-win situation for both student, and the employer.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
Follow your passion, be consistent and you will be all right!
]]>Name: Vanessa Barksdale
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: International Social Services - USA
Major(s)/Minor(s): Social Work with Certification in Intercultural Communication
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.
International Social Services is a very unique organization, and I'm very honored to be selected to work with them. Basically, we do two things: repatriation, and intercountry casework. In casework, we do things like help make international custody battles a little easier on the social workers by being the point of communication between, say, New Jersey and Germany. This definitely produces some interesting conversations and experiences; I definitely learn and do something new every time I come through the door. It is my responsibility to be of assistance in any way possible to the caseworkers on staff here. This can entail anything from asking Puerto Rico's Social Services to run a background check in Spanish (my language of study - very cool to put in practice!) to even copying a 50 year old case file. My job, specifically, is to handle the smaller cases, which usually entails looking for the family members of children in need. It’s very rewarding, and it’s always a good time.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
Networking! Networking! Networking! In the spring of 2014, I had an opportunity to volunteer with the organization CHOICE through the Shriver Center (also a great opportunity). One of the interns in charge of my volunteer site worked in ISS as well, and she recommended me for the position.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
Student Organizations/Scholar Groups, Student Connections
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I love every minute that I'm in the office, to be honest. I suppose that most of all I love the real world practice and application of the things that I've learned to help advance the mission of such a wonderful organization.
What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?
I've definitely gained a sense of agency and self confidence. I've gotten a chance to do, learn, and be a lot of things here, for which I'm grateful.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Find something that pushes your envelope all the way open, that you have a passion for, that's a little unconventional, and then go do that. These are the places that you learn something new. Also, don't just look at working with the "Big Wig" corporations. Look at volunteer internships with the little nonprofits; they definitely need you, and there's plenty of work to go around.
Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.
Find something that pushes your envelope all the way open, that you have a passion for, that's a little unconventional, and then go do that. You'll ALWAYS learn something new.
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