Major: Psychology, Public Relations
Minor: International Studies
Hometown: Monroe, CT

How did you learn about this opportunity?

I used Network Symplicity through the Career Enrichment Network. There are countless opportunities for internships posted on here every day, and that is how I found an opportunity at New York Minute Magazine as a Human Resources/Talent Acquisition Intern. My adviser was the one who informed me about Network Symplicity and it was extremely helpful in narrowing down my results in my search for an internship. I would recommend this site to all students in the College of the Liberal Arts.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

I believe my internship experience to be unique. New York Minute Magazine is an entirely virtual start-up company run by all interns. Our founder and editor-in-chief is the only non-intern, who oversees all teams. I am an HR/Talent Acquisition intern and I have already learned so much. I started at NYMM in June and will be with them until December as it is a six-month commitment. I am in constant contact with my HR team members, in addition to contacting new applicants, interviewing them and evaluating them, among many other duties on a daily basis. My communication skills have greatly improved, as have my self-motivation and organizational skills. I'm extremely happy I chose the environment I did. This is because I participating in a virtual internship, so I am not in a physical office. I have to motivate myself to perform efficiently and effectively on my own time in order to produce success. This aspect has taught me a lot about myself and how I have grown as a more determined worker. Having the opportunity to have a great impact on a growing company is also a very rewarding experience.

My communication skills have greatly improved, as have my self-motivation and organizational skills.

How did this experience impact you academically?

This experience impacted me academically because I am getting academic credit for the internship. By taking LA 495 I will receive 3.0 credits as well as a grade for the class. I am hoping that the grade will raise my overall GPA so I can finish my college career strong. I am a first semester senior and I'm very glad I took this class when I did. If I had taken this class any earlier in my college career, I may have been overwhelmed with the thought of the real-world work experience the class makes you think about constantly. Since I am graduating in May 2016, the time has come in which I must start thinking about life after graduation. This experience has been very valuable to me because it is a combination of academic and real-world experience. Succeeding academically means doing well at my internship and succeeding at my internship means doing well academically. Each gives me that much more motivation to thrive in the other.

What are your career goals and plans?  How did this experience impact them?

I honestly was not sure what my career goals and plans were until my internship at NYMM. Now I realize that I want to pursue a career in Human Resources after just four months in an intern position. I may even consider going to graduate school to get my Master's in Human Resource Management or something related to the field. This experience impacted me significantly because I was beginning to worry about what I was going to do after graduation. It was getting time to start thinking about what kind of company I wanted to work for after graduation. Once I started at NYMM, I knew that I had made the right decision. I felt that as a result of this internship, new doors had been opened for me. I am eager to see where this road will take me after my much-enjoyed experience at NYMM.

Would you recommend this experience to other Liberal Arts students?

I would recommend this experience because it gives you the opportunity to continue attending Penn State as you normally would while while participating in an internship. All of your tasks must be accomplished on your own time and you must learn how to manage your time effectively, which was a great learning experience for me. The environment is not stressful and all of my co-workers are young, enthusiastic undergraduate or graduate students.