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Taking the Initiative
By Rebecca Smith '99
Thanks to an anonymous gift of $500,000, a fund has been established to support paid summer internships for students at not-for-profit organizations across the country.
When Abby Lemieux ’05 landed an internship with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Central MA/Metrowest, Inc. through the College’s Summer Internship Program (SIP), she was overjoyed with the prospect of spending her summer doing meaningful work.
“My experience at Big Brothers Big Sisters gave me the opportunity to interact with business professionals,” Lemieux explains. “In addition, I was given a lot of flexibility to manage, design and complete my own projects—which has bolstered not only my time management skills, but my confidence as well.”
Additionally, Lemieux was thankful that there was money in place to support her financially during her internship at BBBS. Historically, the majority of internships with not-for-profit organizations have been unpaid. A number have been funded through the GAA Summer Fellowship Program, and, for the past five years, funds from the Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative grant have provided students a stipend for their work in service-oriented organizations; the funding from that grant, however, has almost been depleted.
The College was seeking permanent funding for summer internships when it received a $500,000 gift—from parents who wish to be anonymous—guaranteeing that students selected by the SIP will have the opportunity to work for pay in not-for-profit, service-oriented organizations, for years to come.
Learning through experience
Since its inception five years ago, the Holy Cross SIP has provided more than 300 students with significant summer employment at over 100 sites, primarily in the Northeast. Internships are in various fields, including advertising, technology, law, medicine, finance, publishing and social service. Developed through a network of alumni, parents and friends, they are earmarked specifically for Holy Cross students, providing third-year and select second-year students the opportunity to gain career-related experience in an area related to their occupational goals.
As part of this very competitive program, accepted students must complete a learning contract, set goals with their supervisors at the start of their internships and undergo regular evaluations throughout their 10-week experience.
According to Amy Murphy, director of the SIP, the program is demanding—yet rewarding. She notes, too, that the goal of having job offers extended to interns by their summer employers has been met with remarkable success. Of the members of the Class of 2004 who participated in the SIP, 23 percent had a permanent job with their internship site at graduation, and an additional 39 percent had a permanent job with their site’s competitor or an organization within the same industry.
Another goal of the SIP—although a less measurable one—is to give students experience working in a particular career field. Murphy explains that, while she and her staff do extensive work with students prior to their internships, not every job is a perfect match. And that, she believes, can be beneficial.
“If, at the end of the summer, the student says, ‘This is just not a good fit for me,’ that—from our perspective—is also a success,” Murphy observes.
She hopes that through their experience, students can ultimately avoid the stress and frustration of finding themselves in a job that they dislike after graduation. But, above all, Murphy believes that the greatest benefit to students participating in the SIP is the knowledge they gain about professional life.
“Internships give students an understanding of what it means to commute every day,” she says. “They develop computer skills. And they gain valuable interpersonal skills, learning how to manage office relationships and work with people of varying ages and sophistication.”
Raising awareness
Bob Atchinson P05, 07, who is co-chair of the Holy Cross Parents’ Council, agrees wholeheartedly. He and his wife, Mickey, saw firsthand the benefits of the SIP through their son’s experience. They were so impressed with the program that they decided to expand the role of the Parents’ Council in relation to the SIP.
“If we could get parents to think about the jobs that they do as a means of helping Holy Cross and its students,” Atchinson says, “then we could leverage the parent-base in a whole new way.”
Parents have been an invaluable resource to the College, giving generously of their time, support and connections. The Atchinsons want to build on this commitment and encourage parents to establish internships at their places of work. With a small investment of time and planning, Atchinson believes, parents can develop a productive experience for Holy Cross students, their companies and themselves.
“Almost invariably,” he continues, “people who have taken on an intern come back and do it again—and oftentimes they expand the number of interns they take. We’ve always had a great response from the parents and their companies about the quality of the students who come out of Holy Cross.”