Ask the Expert: Fifth in a Series
Brigitte Ortiz | THE RIDER
As students continue on their educational journey, they look for internship opportunities to gain experience and develop new skills in their field of study.
Two UTRGV students described their experiences seeking internships and asked experts for advice.
Katherine Garza, a biology senior, has been looking for internships to apply to for a month and a half.
Garza said she has applied to two.
“Like, I’m looking for anything within the biology spectrum or department,” she said.
Garza said applying to an internship is hard but it can be easy with the Handshake app on my.UTRGV.edu.
“It can be difficult,” she said. “We have classes and, you know, dealing with an internship. So, I feel like we definitely do need to … [manage our] time. I know a lot of internships do require certain criteria, or for you to be there at a certain time, so I feel like that can be a little nerve-racking and it can be a little bit difficult for one. But, I mean … an internship is definitely something I need in order to grow.”
Estrellita Lopez, an art education junior, works at the UTRGV Career Center as part of the Student Experience Internship Program (SEI).
According to the UTRGV website, SEI’s mission is to transform the experiences offered to students and provide on-campus internship opportunities with learning outcomes tied to the student’s field of study. It will allow departments to develop and promote internships for SEI-eligible students to explore their career interests and develop skills.
Lopez said she was not searching for an internship but SEI reached out to her for the opportunity.
“I wasn’t planning on doing internships, just focusing on classes, but when the opportunity arose for me to take it, I just said, ‘Yeah, sure, let me give it a try,’” she said. “I’ve worked as a social media manager before, so it was no different in working for the Career Center as also working on social media.”
Asked what advice she would give to students who are looking for internships, Lopez replied that they should continue looking. Students might not get a call back from their first option, so keep searching.
“If you’re good at something, even if you don’t have the … skill set, some of these internships are to help you develop those skill sets,” she said. “[Do not] be afraid to reach out to the people in charge of the internship to ask them, ‘What can I do more to help me get the internship next time?’”
Lopez said she would like the Career Center to provide more information about on-campus internships that are on campus.
UTRGV Expert
Jack Kaufold, internship coordinator for the Career Center, said internships help students get their feet wet in a field of study or type of industry.
“In addition to that, for students that really don’t know what they want to do in terms of their career, internships help with, you know, the guided learning,” Kaufold said. “They take on an experience. They are actually doing work for an organization, projects and tasks where they’re able to develop skills that are transferable to other opportunities.”
He encourages students to do at least one internship in their college career.
Kaufold said his biggest advice for students is to apply to internships, even if they feel that they are not going to get it because they will never know unless they apply.
“There’s a lot of different things that, you know, students can do to make the most of their internship but the first thing is to apply,” he said. “You know, that’s the one thing that I think students are hesitant on is that they see a job posting and, you know, sometimes there’s requirements for a position or qualifications that they feel that they don’t meet and … it depends on the organization that’s offering an internship to students.”
Kaufold said there are certain skills employers look for.
“Off the top of my head, would be communication,” he said. “Communication in a variety of ways, right, whether that’s verbal or written, presentational speaking. You know, you have to have good communication methods for an experience, right, and that’s just for general employment.
“In addition to that, you know, there’s collaboration. You know, most employers want individuals who will work well with a team and those that can collaborate with others. And, you know, if there’s a specific project, not just for a student, but for a group, what is your effort and what is your commitment to that, and can you build upon that with other team players.”
Kaufold said the third crucial skill would be time management. Students need to be able to manage their time with certain projects and deadlines. He said if they do not possess that skill, most often, students end up procrastinating and it may look like they are not successful in their role as an intern in the organization.
“The fourth thing … is being adaptable,” he said. “You know, being able to shift into different types of work environments, being able to take on different types of projects, being the person that can take the initiative. But it’s also proactive, given the changing environment, whether you’re working, you know, on one project, how can you adapt and work into a different project, and making sure that you can manage both.
“It’s really about being adaptable into also the type of environment that you’re working in. And when I say environment, it could be, like, you know, working with a small startup of five to 10 people or working with a large corporation of thousands, you know, and how do you fit in and stand out.”
Kaufold said the last two skills are research and critical thinking.
“You need to do your research, even at the start of an internship,” he said. “But, even while you’re in the internship doing research on the different, you know, components of a project or, you know, if you’re going to be developing a program or helping promote a service or a product, what research do you have at the start of that that you can present and that would end up being a successful, you know, tie into the project.
“In addition to that, you have the critical thinking. You know, you need to be able to think on your feet and think quick, you know, solve problems, and, you know, with help of others. Of course, you don’t always have to do this yourself. But, just being quick on your feet, being able to think on how you can solve issues to, you know, problems that are being shared out or, you know, that are concerning for, sometimes, employers or projects.”
Asked which is better, an internship or job, Kaufold replied that both help with developing skills in different areas.
“So, if you’re really, you know, spending four years of college to receive a degree in a certain major, an internship experience is going to get you more of that experience as opposed to a part-time job,” he said. “A part-time job can help you develop skills, but an internship is going to give you the skills and experience that’s more conducive to the type of work that you want to do after you graduate.”
Kaufold said it is important for students to consider internships early on in their college career. As a freshman or sophomore, even as a junior, and not wait to the end to pursue those types of opportunities.
