Career Center Internship Program as an

Experiential Learning Model

SUNY CDO Conference 2008

Marianna SavocaElena PolenovaMaggie Weickert

Today’s Agenda• Experiential Learning: common definition

• Case study: Stony Brook University

• Elements of a successful internship program- Corporate inspiration- Facilitating learning

• Outcomes

• Experiential learning activity

What is Experiential Learning?

“Experiential learning takes placewhen a person involved in an activity

looks back and evaluates it,determines what was useful or

important to remember,and uses this information to perform

another activity.”-John Dewey

Setting the stage at Stony Brook• Enrollment 2007 = 23,354 students

– 15,525 undergraduates & 7,829 graduate students

– 119 majors / minors, 102 master’s, 40 doctoral, and 32 graduate certificate programs.

• 15 Career Center staff (ratio about 1,500:1)

• Flourishing undergraduate research programs• Longstanding peer education programs • Academic internships for credit • Service learning courses

Career Center – Past

• 15 work study students to support the basic functions of the office– Schedule based on convenience– Younger students – No group training

Problems:• Younger Students Underprepared• Limited motivation• Disorganized and inefficient

Things to Consider:• Change for office & for students• More centralized program• Add more prestige

Evolution of Internship Program• Conducted Needs Assessment

– Used to discover what the different functions of the office are vs. what the students need

• Kept in Mind Corporate Model– Recruitment & selection

– Extensive training & professional development

– Challenging assignments that have direct impact

– Team projects

• Consulted Faculty– Needed assistance in putting together a more

meaningful educational piece

• Learning objectives were developed– Defined intern responsibilities and what they will be

learning from us

• Made transition from what the office needs to Experiential Learning

– All tasks, no matter how simple, should be part of a greater learning experience no matter how big or small.

• Began with Peer Career Advisors– Modeled this program after universities with benchmark Peer Career

Advising programs

– Best Career Peer Advising schools have some sort of counseling or education program at the university

• Became a more structured program– Continue adding learning objectives

– Valued experience to put on a resume

Learning – “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” (Kolb, 1984, p.38)

Experiential Learning Model

Facilitating Experiential Learning

• If experiential learning is not facilitated in the correct way it can lead to wrong results

• Create environments where learning can be facilitated

• The facilitation of learning is key to successful experiential learning outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes• Interns will deepen their knowledge in their

respective fields • Interns will acquire knowledge of the industry

they are working in• Interns will develop transferrable skills• Interns will develop skill specific to their

industry

Recruitment and Selection• Highly selective• Involve current interns in recruitment process• Outreach to student groups• Use job posting venues that are familiar to the

students• Two stages interviewing process

Training and Facilitation of Learning

• Pre-semester weekend retreat • Mandatory weekly two hours meetings• Combination of academic style seminars, role playing,

and de-briefing sessions• Joint seminars in which all career center interns

participate, as well as separate group sessions• Regular meetings with faculty advisors• Regular meetings with on-site supervisors

providing feedback• Written reflections• Meaningful projects, and group projects

Career Counseling

Interns

Career Counseling

Interns

MarketingInterns

MarketingInterns

PublicRelationsInterns

PublicRelationsInterns

TechnologyInterns

TechnologyInterns

Human Resources Interns

Human Resources Interns

Associate DirectorEmployer RelationsAssociate DirectorEmployer Relations

CommunicationsAssistant

CommunicationsAssistant

Marketing CoordinatorMarketing Coordinator

Communications(reports to

director)

Communications(reports to

director)

Associate DirectorCareer EducationAssociate DirectorCareer Education

CareerCounselors

CareerCounselors

Internship Consultant

Arts & Humanities

Internship Consultant

Arts & Humanities

Career Planning &

DevelopmentAsst

Career Planning &

DevelopmentAsst

VCSCoordinator

VCSCoordinator

StudentEmployment

StudentEmployment

Asst DirectorEmployer

Relations &Diversity

Asst DirectorEmployer

Relations &Diversity

Graphic DesignInterns

Graphic DesignInterns

Responsibilities• Assist peer students at Stony Brook in their

career development • Use CC resources to assist students

Learning Objectives• Apply career development theory to interactions• Use counseling skills• Make referrals

Career Counseling Interns

Human Resources InternsResponsibilities• Conduct resume reviews & mock interviews• Assist in organizing job fairs & recruitment

events• Prospect employers via written & telephone

Learning Objectives• Increase their knowledge of the recruiting

process• Learn effective communication skills

Marketing Interns –Communications Team

Responsibilities• Promote services among students in a variety of

campus venues• Create & execute marketing plans• Deliver presentations in classes & club meetings

Learning Objectives• Learn how to develop marketing plans• Develop public speaking skills• Discover the different types of creative ways

to reach their target audience

Public Relations Interns-Communications Team

Responsibilities• Develop content for website & Career Planning

Calendar• Write copy for and record CC podcasts• Assist with the planning and execution of major events

Learning Objectives• Further develop professional writing skills• Discover the different types of creative ways to

reach their target audience

Graphics Interns-Communications Team

Responsibilities• Design advertising and promotional materials for the

Career Center, CC publications, special events and bulletin boards.

Learning Objectives• Gain an understanding of connections between

design and marketing strategies

Technology Interns-Communications Team

Responsibilities

• Provides tech support for the office

• Assess new technologies & make recommendations

• Manages office servers

• Web Programming

Learning Objectives

• Learn to communicate with non-technical clients

• Develop programs in response to client needs

• Learn new technologies

• Assess needs in order to create a user-friendly & functional website

"Communication is key. Working on a class assignment trying to make it meet specification is one thing but effectively managing requirements and feature requests from multiple people is a very different realm. Regardless of the book knowledge that you may have, if you cannot effectively communicate and understand the ideas that you or others may present, everything you bring to the table is practically useless. This is the kind of experience that is difficult to mimic in a classroom setting.”- Betson T. ‘08

"Communication is key. Working on a class assignment trying to make it meet specification is one thing but effectively managing requirements and feature requests from multiple people is a very different realm. Regardless of the book knowledge that you may have, if you cannot effectively communicate and understand the ideas that you or others may present, everything you bring to the table is practically useless. This is the kind of experience that is difficult to mimic in a classroom setting.”- Betson T. ‘08

 "For me, the Career Counseling Internship has helped me gain insight on how students make career decisions, and I was able to play a part in helping students explore career options, which in turn was wonderful to be a part of.”-Maria G. ‘08

“The Career Center has been a nurturing environment where I could explore my specific interests in the broad field of human resources. I have been able to do everything from strengthening my presentation skills …to learning more effective ways of communicating with employers, professionals, and colleagues…. I am confident that accepting this internship at the Career Center is one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I know I will keep benefiting from the knowledge I gained here for years to come.”

– Theresa C. ’07

“The Career Center has been a nurturing environment where I could explore my specific interests in the broad field of human resources. I have been able to do everything from strengthening my presentation skills …to learning more effective ways of communicating with employers, professionals, and colleagues…. I am confident that accepting this internship at the Career Center is one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I know I will keep benefiting from the knowledge I gained here for years to come.”

– Theresa C. ’07

“I learned that criticism and change comes with the field.  It was hard to accept at first, especially when you feel confident about a design and the way you had the layout.  However, it is ultimately up to your client who decides what the final design and layout will be. If the client is happy, then you've done your job. “ -Rodney C. ‘08

“I learned that criticism and change comes with the field.  It was hard to accept at first, especially when you feel confident about a design and the way you had the layout.  However, it is ultimately up to your client who decides what the final design and layout will be. If the client is happy, then you've done your job. “ -Rodney C. ‘08

Our Success Stories• Kristen Gallo’05 CCI – Northeastern Univ (higher education)• Deirdre Gross’04 CCI – Syracuse Univ (school psychology)• Scott Moeller’05 CCI – Univ of Michigan (PhD program in social psych)

• Phil Camacho’07 TECH – SBU Client Support• Kaman Cheong’07 CCI – SBU Human Resources / SA• Lucy Kim ’05 CCI – SBU Academic Advising

• Monica Myers ’08 ER, Kevin Quan’06 ER -Lehman Brothers• Poonam Kaur ’08 ER – Travelers• Jessica Inoa ‘08 HR- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.• Liang Guo ’08 Graphics, Viraj Mehta’07 TECH-JP Morgan Chase• Nadia Saleh, ’07 MKTG – Target Mgmt Associate program• Meti Yemani’07 CCI – Simon & Schuster• Argenis Sanchez’06 MKTG and Marisela Lopez’07 HR – Citigroup • Luis Gil’07 MKTG and Manting Li’06 MKTG – Goldman Sachs• Christina Rugari’06 ER –ICON labs• Faye Lee’06 CCI – Bilinguals, Inc. • Lauryn Couch’05 EDIT – Dan Klores Public Relations

QUESTIONS?