Updates from Former Internship Connection Interns

It's so rewarding as an educator to keep in touch with our interns. We love to hear how their high school internship jump-started a career or helped with a college acceptance.

I was honored to help our former student, Jennifer Pierre from Roslindale, MA. We secured a government internship for Jen when she was a student at BB&N. She then went on to become class president at Bryn Mawr. I came to bat several times for her, recommending her as applied for and was accepted to several internships during her college years, from a position with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development to an internship at the UN.

Ben Prawdzik, formerly a student at Philips Andover wrote to say that he is enjoying his freshman year at Yale. We placed Ben on an internship as a sophomore in high school with the VP of Technology at the fastest growing e-commerce business in the US. Ben was offered a paying job there his junior summer and made fabulous career connections.

I recently heard from Lauren Cohen. When she was the editor of the Newton North High School newspaper, we matched her to a journalism internship at Women's Business, Boston. She then went on to U Wisconsin and told us that her high school experience led to an internship at Dateline NBC in NYC.

As I tell my friends and colleagues, this is certainly the most rewarding work that I have experienced in my professional career. To my former interns, keep in touch and let me know if I can help you as you embark on your career paths.

-Dr. Internship

Winter is the time to think about a Summer Internship.

November has been a very busy month in our office, with many inquiries coming from college students home for Thanksgiving. The job market is still very tight for college graduates and those students in the know realize how important it is to describe internship experiences on their resume. These days, employers expect students to have multiple internships before they graduate.

For high school students, December and January are the perfect time to meet with Internship Connection to discuss career interests. Often students are not returning to summer camp, they may have already spent a summer traveling and college applications loom ahead.

We suggest taking advantage of Winter Break to begin the process of establishing an internship. Why so soon? The process is time consuming and actually involves the same steps as looking for a job:

1. Thinking about your innate talents and/or academic interests.
2. Researching which career fields would be relevant.
3. Creating and sending a business resume.
4. Prepping for a workplace interview
5. Contacting businesses and organizations.

Let us make the process easy for you. Over the last eight years, we have established hundreds of internships with workplace mentors who trust our program and the students we send to them.

We look forward to hearing from you!

-Dr. Internship

A Sampling of 3 New York Internships- Summer, 2010

Divya, from Old Westbury NY is a junior at Boston University and contacted Internship Connection about a summer internship in Public Relations. We matched her to an internship at Publishers Clearing House where her mentor crafted a thoughtful letter of recommendation. Certainly this letter will be valuable as she applies for jobs after graduation. "Divya has taken on individual responsibilities more often assigned to a full time associate. She diligently prepared the team for projects and attended numerous meetings, both internal tactical meetings and vendor appointments.Divya is not only intelligent, but she also possesses the intangible qualities of being adaptable, dependable and passionate about new opportunities."

Tanna, a high school sophomore from New York City, was interested in antique books. After much research, we connected her to a rare book dealer. In her recommendation letter, the owner described Tanna's experiences there. Tanna catalogued new arrivals and wrote catalogue descriptions, archived a NYC poet's body of work and personal library, working on location in the poet's residence. She participated in rare book field trips around the city, meeting professionals in the field. She went on book-buying trips and visited a professional paper conservator and book binder and even attended an auction of books and manuscripts at a prominent New York auction house. Her mentor wrote, "Tanna has the intelligence and ambition necessary to make a valuable contribution to the field of literature and rare books, or whatever field she chooses to pursue."

Jared, a high school sophomore from New York City, was interested in "helping people" and social justice. We matched him to a famous non-profit that empowers young people to change the world. In his Internship Connection Journal, Jared wrote that he executed write-ups on social networking, prepared for an award show on VH1, and researched and contacted every minor baseball team! He especially enjoyed the intern scavenger hunt because it was a great bonding experience.

Engineering 101

Harry, a junior at Hingham High is an outstanding student athlete with particular strengths in math and science. Interested in engineering and manufacturing operations, we matched Harry to a manufacturing internship. Harry's mentor was the company's CEO, a graduate of MIT who wrote Harry's letter of recommendation:

"I have been impressed with Harry’s engaging personality, intelligence and maturity throughout his internship. He quickly grasped the necessary concepts involved in our operation and excelled on every task that he was assigned to. His responsibilities included: attending all manufacturing meetings, learning ISO requirements and the operating procedure for all machines. Once I understood his advanced level of competence, I assigned Harry the task of developing procedural documents for maintaining each piece of equipment. Harry became aware of vendor issues and wrote up a thoughtful report concerning quality control. I found his interest in engineering and quick grasp of manufacturing issues unusual for a high school student.

With the intelligence and drive that Harry brought to our company as a high school intern, I can only imagine what he would have to offer to MIT and his chosen profession."


In addition, Internship Connection contacted another CEO of a prestigious engineering consulting firm in downtown Boston, who was happy to arrange a visit. Harry spent several hours touring the offices and meeting all types of engineers. He learned about engineering as a profession, the various types of engineering fields and enjoyed lunch and camaraderie with professionals immersed in the field.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Nick, an Austin Prep junior, is learning the ropes of television production. Internship Connection established an internship for Nick that reflected his interests in television and his previous experiences in theater.

He has created a stellar marketing piece for a community theater group, while at the same time, he learned all facets of TV production- camera work, interviewing, filming, writing and editing.

Nick is pictured with his mentor, an extraordinary educator and Executive Director of the station.

Fashion Internship, Summer 2010

Newbury Street Fashion Internship, Boston

Hannah Orenstein, a junior at Needham High, is passionate about writing and fashion. We matched Hannah's blogging talents to the hottest designer in Boston, Daniela Corte.

Internships for January Freshman

As the Director of Internship Connection, I have just finished arranging a fall government internship and homestay in Boston for a January freshman from Mexico. Joaquin has been accepted to Babson College starting in January.

"J-Frosh" is a concept that's gaining popularity at many colleges including the Ivy League. There are so many wonderful students that colleges would like to accept but dorm rooms are at a premium. Space opens up when juniors take a semester abroad in the Spring- thus freeing up campus housing.

Joaquin wisely felt that the fall semester would give him the opportunity to build his resume, get familiar with Boston and brush up on his English. I look forward to welcoming him at the airport, giving him a tour of Boston (including Fenway Park of course)and taking him to his homestay.

Never too soon to create a Boston sports fan!

-Dr. Internship