From Intel to the Heidelberg Project: CLAS Warriors thrive in internships
In the face of today's competitive job market, internships have emerged as an essential stepping stone for college students, providing invaluable real-world experience and opportunities to expand their skill sets. Students from across the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) have embraced internship opportunities, seizing gigs in industries across the country to increase their career options.
We caught up with a group of #CLASWarriors to capture their experience and share some pro tips for a great internship.
Shiraz Nantogma
Major: Chemistry
Internship: Intel
I assist in process improvement projects to take new manufacturing processes for next-generation semiconductors devices from infancy to high-volume manufacturing. I also assist in yield improvement and process capability assessments.
Pro-tips
Ask questions, listen and learn.
Maryam Al Bakzou
Major: Criminal justice
Internship: Macomb County Prosecutor's Office
Pro-tips
Pay attention, be responsible and ask questions.
Sophia Verduce
Major: Public health
Internship: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, CHEAR Summer Internship Program
My role as a student research assistant consists of collecting Mott poll data, creating infographics, transcribing qualitative analysis of interviews, as well as data collection from patients, providers, parents, and surveys. Additionally, I will be assisting CHEAR member Sarah Clark, MPH, and her team on the Michigan Pediatric Epilepsy Project as well as other pediatric projects. My role in this project consists of collecting cross-site evaluations, online survey information, and collecting open-ended data from interviews with adult Medicaid beneficiaries.
Pro-tips
I would recommend that students are very open-minded when considering an internship. You never know what may fall into your lap and what could be a great experience.
Jacqi Gualdoni
Major: Public health
Internship: Oakland County Health Department
I am a student sanitarian.
Pro-tips
Try everything, ask any and every question that comes to mind, and try things that you might not have an interest in on paper.
Alamia Annous
Program: Ph.D. in English
Internship: Arab American National Museum
I'm learning new research skills and public humanities writing skills (it differs from academic writing).
Pro-tips
Be kind. Stay responsible. Be open to new ideas.
Leah Butkis
Major: Biological sciences
Internship location: Healthmark Industries Co.
Pro-tips
Go for it! You will be so glad that you did. Aim to try a few different internships in the time that you are in school so you can get a feel for several companies in your career field. Even if you have a clear path on where you'd like to end up, it never hurts to explore your options.
Christopher Gibson
Major: Criminal justice and law
Internship: Michigan House of Representatives
I speak with constituents and interact with the community.
Finding an internship
I actually interned through a previous state representative and she wrote me a letter of recommendation for my current representative whom I met at a Wayne State College Democrats event. Afterward, I sent the state representative my resume via email and got the job.
Julie Julison
Program: Ph.D. in Anthropology
Internship: Archival at the Heidelberg Project
Working with collections and cataloging all artifacts for the organization. As an archaeologist, the importance of keeping track of all cultural materials is paramount for not only my research but for other researchers in the future.
Pro-tips
Take a chance and be open to new experiences.
Lily Jiale Chen
Program: Master's in Public History
Internship: Acquisitions at WSU Press
I learned about it through the Wayne State Humanities Clinic
Pro-tips
Ask questions. Read/learn everything you can. Meet everyone and learn about what they do.
Aimee Shulman
Internship: Pewabic Pottery and MotorCities National Heritage Area
For Pewabic, I am digitizing archival material from the organization's history. For MotorCities, I assist with the editing of educational material for the motorcities.org website.
Pro-tips
Learn everything you can about your community partners. It's an opportunity to dive deep into something you might never have been aware of before.
Maddie Henry
Program: Ph.D. in English
Internship: Detroit Creativity Project and Dr. Elena Past's Analog Anthropocene project
Through this internship, I am learning to engage with communities inside and outside of academia that I would not otherwise interact with. I'm also learning how to engage with public humanities, digital and analog products, website and social media development, evaluation systems, and the intricacies of DEI.
Bailey Meyerhoff
Program: Master of Arts in English
Internship: The Heidelberg Project and Dr. Elena Past's Analog Anthropocene project
Pro-tips
Work on your time management skills, especially if your internships require you to do primarily remote work (and download the Toggl Track app, which has been really helpful to me in keeping track of my hours!).
