As summer draws to an end, the thoughts of many Dartmouth students are turning away from sun and smoothies to higher pursuits -- how to secure a meaningful internship for the fall.
In order to prepare students for the real world of job-related stress, Career Services is offering a variety of resources aimed at helping them find an internship to suit their interests.
"The message Dartmouth students receive is that internships are another form of learning, as well as giving them practical experience to help them in searching for a job when they graduate," said Kathryn Hutchinson, associate director of Career Services.
Hutchinson said coming to college should enable students to build a "portfolio of experiences," and internships are an important element in this process.
Career Services has run workshops earlier in the term and currently provides help with researching for internships and interviewing techniques, she said.
In addition, Career Services runs an Internet database listing of about 1,800 internships, accessible through the Career Services home page, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson urged students to check BlitzMail bulletins for special onetime internship opportunities.
They also offer individual appointments, enabling students to discuss their plans one-on-one, she said.
Hutchinson said that consulting firms and investment banking internships are the most commonly heard about, but that Career Services tries to match internships to the specific interests of the student.
Matthew B. Nelson '00 found his internship -- working for an international environmental law firm -- through the Career Services web page, but said in the long run he thought a lot of students depend on connections to secure their internships.
But Nelson added that Career Services has "lots on well-known corporate internships, but less on others", and said he had to do a lot of searching on his own.
Monica Randall '00 said she thought Career Services was helpful on the whole, but was skewed towards business.
Randall said she hopes to get an internship in child psychology for the Winter term, but said there were fewer opportunities then, and Career Services only had three places in her area, all of which were unpaid.
Tom Sanborn '00 said Career Services was "fantastic", and said he would have had absolutely no idea where to look without them. Sanborn is trying to find an internship for the fall, and said he really does not mind the prevalence of consulting positions.
Far from having to spend hours searching for an internship, Ruby Chan '00 was sought out by her professor to spend her Fall term on an archeological dig in Peru.
Professor Paul Goldstein, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, chose Chan to accompany him as assistant on his field trip to Moguequa because of her experience on archeological digs, and her knowledge of Spanish and geography, Chan said.
"It was very unplanned on my part -- I am going in two weeks and it hasn't really sunk in yet," Chan said.
