Major: Communication Arts and Sciences
Hometown: Elk Grove, CA

How did you learn about this opportunity?

During my experience with the Communication Arts and Sciences Club, I have had the opportunity to interact with many Penn State Alumni. During a networking event, one of the Alumni mentioned participating in this internship during his time at Penn State. I then met with my internship coordinator for my major and was able to get contact information for the hiring team in charge of this internship. After emailing the team and going through the hiring process, I received an offer to become a Peer Career Assistant at Penn State Career Services a few weeks later.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

At Career Services, I have had the pleasure of doing many different job tasks and gaining valuable experience. During my time as a Peer Career Assistant, I have conducted mock interviews for students, helped to create and edit resumes and cover letters, created and presented material on professional development to classes and student organizations, assisted with special events and career fairs, and given feedback on websites and phone applications that students will use in the future. I am also very privileged to have the opportunity to help train and observe the next group of interns. At my location, I am encouraged to continue to grow my skills and take part in new experiences. My supervisor has allowed me to shadow her daily activities and talk to employers that visit our building. We also constantly receive feedback from supervisors and clients so that we can always be doing our best.

How did this experience impact you academically?

Initially I was concerned that working so many hours would take away from my schoolwork. I have found that this experience has not taken away from my academic experience at all. In fact, I think my internship has encouraged me to do better. With more on my plate, I have become better at time management and I get my assignments done in plenty of time. Additionally,I feel that my new experiences helping students, editing, and doing presentations has made me become more fluent in my written and verbal communication skills. This has helped me generate content for my assignments more quickly and maintain excellent quality of work.

This internship has helped me see what I enjoy doing and what my strengths are.

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

My goal is to obtain a client-facing role in a company where I can help other people reach their goals. I also very much enjoy teaching and training others and hope that I will eventually obtain a leadership role where I can accomplish this. During my training, I gained important skills and practiced both professional and interpersonal communication. I also have appreciated the opportunity to help observe and train the next group of interns and I have realized teaching is one of my talents that I wish to continue developing. I have realized how much I enjoy my workplace interactions and seeing results in clients. This internship has helped me see what I enjoy doing and what my strengths are. With this experience I know that I have the right goals and I would like to continue pursuing them.

Would you recommend this experience to other Liberal Arts students?

I definitely recommend this internship to Liberal Arts students. This internship needs students who are great communicators, writers, presenters, and problem solvers. Peer Career Assistants need to be perceptive, understanding, and creative with their feedback. Additionally, students in this internship need a desire to learn more and help others. These are all qualities I see in Liberal Arts students and I think this is an excellent opportunity to exercise and develop these skills. Career Services is an excellent place to work and provides a great working environment for all their students.