Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Universities encourage students to do internships in order to get first-hand experience of what a future job may be like.
But internships give students and employers much more.
Millicent Weiss is a student at Cedarville College, Ohio, during the school year. As a marketing major, her future plans include working in the field of photo advertising.
But her internship this summer has nothing directly to do with her major, though it provides her with experience she will use.
"I love it," she said. "I really enjoy it. I learned so much on how a city works in its limits."
She said she gets experience with working with the public. She learns what people like and what they don't like. For a career in marketing, she said, that is very helpful.
"I enjoy working with people. One of the major things in advertising is to know what people want. The other advantage is I know how this city works."
Last year, Weiss worked on the census project for next year's census. She helped update all addresses to make the system more efficient for the census. This summer, she is taking digital photos of all signs within the city limits and finishing up the 2000 census project.
In the future, she would like to intern with large corporation in marketing, perhaps a nature or sports magazine.
But for now, her internship with the Warsaw planning office is providing her with a lot of experience and advantages.
Administrative assistant Tina Dunkleberger said having Weiss at the office takes some pressure off the staff because she provides an extra hand to do work that otherwise would be put off.
"It makes it a little easier to take advantage of things outside of the office," she said, because they know Weiss is handling the office.
Dunkleberger said as for the future of interns at the city planning office, "We definitely foresee an intern being quite valuable." She said they may even begin actively seeking interns.
Steve Carlson, director of career services at Grace College, said, "An internship would be, No. 1, an academically related experience. There would be set boundaries as to when an internship would begin and end."
He said it would have to be a supervised type of experience where "the supervisor of the student would have to report to the school about the student's progress."
All departments at Grace College encourage students to pursue internships.
"In the coming year, all students in the business department will be required to do an internship," Carlson said. He said the graphic design department may already require an internship, and the student teaching experience is very similar to an internship.
Most internships are completed between a student's junior and senior years.
But are there enough opportunities for Grace College students to do internships locally?
Carlson said, "I think that's an area where we would like to see more development. ... There are some good opportunities but I think there could be more."
For students, Carlson said, "The first advantage (of an internship) is that they get to apply some of the knowledge they are learning in the field. ... Another advantage is for students to test-drive their career." He said it allows students to see if their college major is what they want to do for the long haul. Students also get to network with professionals.
As for employers who take on interns, Carlson said, "Some of the advantages for employers, at least what I heard, is that interns generally add some enthusiasm to the workplace, a breath of fresh air. It helps the organization feel connected to the community. Businesses like to feel they have input to the educational system."
Carlson said interns allow businesses to get a preview of future graduates. If employers can identify a junior for an internship, they then can offer them full-time work after graduation, saving money on recruiting.
"We would certainly like to do more with internships here at Grace," he said. "It's a win-win situation for the employers and a win-win situation for the students."
Nate Schacht is an intern with the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission from Ball State University. His internship is a requirement as part of his five-year study in the BSU urban planning program. He drives approximately 65 miles from Gas City to do the internship because the position in Grant County was already filled.
But he also thought that serving as an intern in Kosciusko County would provide him with a few advantages.
"I thought it would be interesting because of all the lakes and the environmental issues," Schacht said.
He inputs data into the geographical imaging satellite system for the plan commission. He has researched revision options on zoning and on the current transportation plan.
"Ball State has provided me with a great background on conceptual ideas," he said, "but to get out in the real world to see how it flies has been the greatest benefit."
Schacht is required to work 200 hours during his internship. He has already fulfilled that.
He said, "The internship itself has prepared me for when I do graduate from school and when I do get a job not just for the summer."
