Homework, clubs, jobs, deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life and now you’re told you should probably get an internship.
As overwhelming and mundane as that sounds, internships are actually beneficial and required in many majors.
An internship isn’t just another thing to accomplish. They provide job experience, networking, show you if you want to work in a certain industry and can even slide you into your first post-grad job.
If you aren’t convinced yet, keep reading.
Kayla Speis, a 2018 graduate from Murray State, found her job as the marketing and communications director for the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau after an internship.
“So yes, it helped me land my first job out of college,” Speis said.
Speis said her internship shaped her as a young professional by exposing her to a real-life work environment.
“I had job responsibilities and relationships with employees in our office,” Speis said. “I was responsible for projects that had deadlines and were necessary to get done. This helped me when I started my position, to learn the ropes and what was required of me.”
Kaleb Travis, a senior at Murray State, hopes to parlay his internship in financial relations at Blue Chair Bay Rum Co, in Nashville, Tennessee, into a career.
“I hope to start my career with this company next summer, and I think my internship with them puts me in the right position to do just that,” Travis said.
Travis said his internship showed him that just because he is pursuing a finance degree doesn’t strictly confine him to a banking job.
Murray State provides many internship opportunities for students. Students in the journalism and mass communications department often seek internships with the Omnicom Group, a holding company that owns more than 200 companies specializing in advertising, graphic design, public relations, direct marketing, research, merchandising, branding, and other marketing-related services.
Murray State faculty and staff screen student applicants first and then the Omnicom companies interview the students second.
Heath Montgomery, a senior at Murray State, received an internship through Omnicom this summer working for OMD Worldwide, a marketing and advertising company, as the media intern.
“My internship helped me connect with a lot of great people and set me up to be better prepared for future jobs,” Montgomery said. “It gave me an experience you can’t have in a classroom.”
Internships all have the same goal but a lot of them look very different, especially student teaching and social work.
Student teaching is required in the last semester of the education program at Murray State, and a social work internship is required in the last semester of the social work program.
Murray State places student teachers and social work majors in their internships so they aren’t scrambling at the last minute.
Katie Watson, a senior at Murray State, is currently student teaching at an elementary school.
“Student teaching has provided me with experiences that have shown me what day-to-day teaching looks like,” Watson said. “Because of student teaching, I have gained confidence in myself as a soon to be teacher. I feel excited and prepared for my upcoming career.”
For students who are not involved with the education, social work, finance or mass communications programs at Murray State, do not fret. Murray State’s Career Services provides more than enough help. You can go to the Student Internship Information page for everything you need.