This summer, UMBC students have hit the ground running in exploration of possible post-graduation opportunities with internship placements across a wide range of industries and career fields that include companies such as NASA, House of Ruth, Morgan Stanley, Art with a Heart, Doordash, and more. 

With the help of UMBC’s Career Center, hundreds of students have continued their educational pursuits beyond the classroom with summertime experiential learning opportunities that provide hands-on, real-world exposure to professional roles that are specific to students’ individual career interests. These students are joining a record number of Retrievers who have completed applied experience opportunities—internships, research fellowships, service learning, study abroad, student teaching, and leadership positions while at UMBC—before graduating, says Christine Routzahn, Career Center director. 

“Our students pursue applied learning in significant numbers, and these experiences have an impact on their career success following graduation,” says Routzahn.

Expanding existing skill sets 

Luna Siesko, a rising senior studying visual arts, didn’t journey too far from UMBC’s Catonsville campus to continue developing her skills in photography and the arts as the intern for the Baltimore County Arts Guild. She expanded her experience in social media content development, website posts, space management, and event planning for the local nonprofit.

“I’ve always had this dream of having my own studio space, and some sort of exhibit space for my work,” Siesko says. “And so this internship has been really applicable to that—making sure that the space is managed and accessible, and everything is running smoothly.”

Parag Shinde, a biotechnology master’s student, spent his summer interning at Vici Health Sciences, a pharmaceutical research and development firm in Elkridge, Maryland. After emailing his resume to dozens of local companies in the spring, Shinde landed an analytical chemist role at Vici, testing drug compounds for purity, shelf-life, and many other attributes before they can be formulated into medications or other medical treatments. 

“You can gain knowledge through books, but then you actually go to a company and start doing something, and you feel like you know nothing. My plan was to work here and get physical experience, as much as possible,” says Shinde. 

Left: Parag Shinde got the hands-on experience he wanted this summer at Vici Health Sciences. (Photo courtesy of Shinde) Right: Ortisemoyowa Ikomi (front left) with fellow interns and staff in a lab at AstraZeneca. (Photo courtesy of Mark Benesch)

Ortisemoyowa Ikomi, chemical engineering, also explored her career interests in pharmaceuticals with an internship at AstraZeneca. Ikomi, a rising senior, connected with an AstraZeneca representative at a recent UMBC Career Fair and learned about the opportunity to work on the company’s management of a new drug manufacturing plant in Rockville, Maryland. In Ikomi’s eventual internship, she investigated a software tool that could track construction progress.

“It’s not traditional chemical engineering, more within the realm of project management of large-scale engineering projects. I definitely enjoyed it,” Ikomi says. “I’ve learned so much during the internship. The experience has made me think I’d like to continue working in the engineering project management sphere.”

Career explorations in space

Leah Narat, business technology administration, landed a business intelligence internship at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center—an opportunity she never previously thought she could achieve, says Narat. 

During the internship, Narat, a senior, worked on computer systems that help keep NASA missions safe and its employees engaged. In one project, she created and updated databases to track awards given to NASA employees. The agency will use the information to maximize employees’ recognition and success and guide them toward career paths that best take advantage of their strengths.

“It’s been great to have this real world experience, where I can get my hands dirty and decide: Is this the type of work I want to do?” Narat says.

In Baltimore, Katherine Carver, physics and mathematics, secured a placement in the Space Astronomy Summer Program at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) at Johns Hopkins University. This is the second internship role Carver landed at Johns Hopkins since attending UMBC—as a first-year student in 2023 she secured a Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory CIRCUIT internship. 

During her STScI internship, Carver, a rising junior, has been digging into developing open-source software that allows astronomers anywhere to analyze data arriving from the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space telescope ever launched.

Carver shares that while she was able to secure these highly competitive internships, it didn’t come without a lot of rejection.

“Shoot for the internships even if you feel like you won’t get them. Be persistent, ask around, talk to your professors. And then once you are there, take maximum advantage of every opportunity,” she says. 

International experiential learning

After several semesters volunteering at the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), including an internship working with BARCS medical professionals, Liz Willman, biological sciences, took her skills and education in animal care overseas for a six-week summer internship with the Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Center. 

Willman, a senior enrolled in the pre-vet track, worked with wildlife animals for the first time—rehabilitating birds that were injured or abandoned by their parents when they were still too young to care for themselves, performing daily exams, and helping to build their strength to prepare them to return to the wild.

“It wasn’t only a new experience for me to be working with wildlife, but it was also wildlife that you don’t see in the U.S., like finches native to the United Kingdom,” she says. “It has just really reaffirmed that I’m not just trying to live out my childhood dream—I’m meant to do this.” 

Robert Barry, a rising senior majoring in ancient studies and visual arts, also looked internationally for a place to dig deep into his skill set. He traveled to Greece for the second summer to work at an archeological site with Michael F. Lane, associate professor of ancient studies and field director on the Kopaic Cultures, Economies, and Landscapes research program.

After joining Lane’s six-week summer archeological fieldwork team last year, Barry returned to Greece as a trench supervisor with more responsibilities. This opportunity allowed Barry to develop his leadership skills and get more experience collaborating with fellow researchers on an international level. 

“Last year, I was digging and following directions from my supervisor. Now, I’m giving the orders and having to be responsible for the health and safety of everyone else while getting the job done,” says Barry. 

Opening doors 

While many Retrievers have found success in securing internships that closely align with their majors, there’s a long list of UMBC students who have also found success with internships that may not have initially been on their radar. These nonlinear internships are helping students to “get to their longer-term goal,” says Marykate Conroy, associate director of internships and employment in UMBC’s Career Center. “Diverse experiences also may open doors for students that they didn’t even see as possible.”

These internship opportunities have proven to yield positive outcomes. The Career Center’s class of 2023 survey found that after graduation, 93 percent of the university’s new graduates go directly into the job market, continue their education by pursuing an advanced degree, or both. 

Preparation for these opportunities typically start with a search on Handshake, UMBC’s job and internship search platform, or a visit to the Career Center’s Internship and Career Fair. The center will host its Fall 2024 career fair on September 18, from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. 

Read more about where internships took Retrievers this summer.