By Kate McAvey, '11
 

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova is committed to offering its students a wide array of internship opportunities from which they can explore and choose. The Office of Internships in the College hosted an “Internship Lunch and Learn” on Wednesday, Feb. 20, in Room 300 of the St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts so that A&S students could learn why internships are important and how they can investigate options and make the most informed decision.

The purpose of the event was to enlighten upperclassmen on the benefits of having an internship and the process to attain one. With the post-college future nearing and job interviews looming, filling a résumé with quality internships is an important aspect in securing that dream job.

Rina Ebert, the director of the Internship Program in the College, led the information session. She explained the benefits of finding an internship through Villanova and the value an internship brings in gaining “real-life” job experience.

The first point that Ebert stressed was how essential it is for students to upload their résumé on Go Nova. Go Nova is a Web site that provides potential employers with the ability to browse through Villanova students résumés in order to find interested job and internship applicants. Students can upload their résumés by visiting www.careers.villanova.edu. This is an ideal way for students to demonstrate to potential employers that they are eagerly in the market for an internship or a job.

Ebert continued the lecture, explaining the benefits of having an internship. “First, it’s an experience on your résumé that sets you apart from the rest,” she said. “Second, it shows you what you want to do.”

With these benefits in mind, applying for an internship can do nothing but enhance a student’s search for a job. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences makes available a variety of internship opportunities to students who want to intern outside of their field of study. Right now, A&S students are interning all over the world, from the Vatican in Rome to governmental agencies and businesses in Washington, D.C.

Internship opportunities are practically endless. Students cannot start earning credit for their internships until the summer before their sophomore year. After that summer, companies either have to pay students for their time or offer students academic credit that they can add toward their Villanova degree.

In addition to academic credit or a salary, internships open up the door to the real world, and those students who take advantage of the internship program in the College have a foot in the right direction when it comes to leaping into their career after graduation.