Internships give students head start

Iliana Deanda

The Career Services Center at MCC offers a unique opportunity that allows students to intern in the field of their future career.Students can take part in this program to get a feel of whether or not the career path that they have chosen is the right choice.

“An internship is what you make of it,” said Susan Taffer, MCC’s internship coordinator. “It’s an opportunity for students to gain experience at a specific organization.”

These internships are usually a semester long depending on what the student requires and often times it can turn into a position.

“I have students who experienced internships that turned into careers,” said Taffer.

The internship program at MCC has been around for six years, but has recently gained interest from some organizations in the last three years.

“Over the past few years we have partnered with some larger organizations like Disney, one of our premiere internship programs,” she said.

A popular internship offered involves students working with radio stations here in the Valley.

“We have radio stations in town that are our partners like with 101.5 and 98.5 and a lot of their activities and internship opportunities surround promotional and public relations,” Taffer said.

“Verbal communication skills are required as well as a background in communication courses or business courses as well as marketing.”

While an internship can be a notable opportunity, they are not always paid.

“Usually paid and unpaid internships are dictated by the company. As long as there is a strong academic component, it can be as valuable or even more than getting paid.”

If there is payment involved it is normally less than the market rate because it is a learning experience.

MCC student LaSheena Adams participated in a paid internship.

“The pay was average. I was able to get groceries, and still pay my cell phone bill while I was interning. I did have to pay weekly rent, but it was automatically taken out of my check so I didn’t have to worry about it,” Adams said.

Student David Baird had the opportunity to intern with Disney.

“I met so many people from all over the world and got to work for one of the best companies in the world,” Baird said, “The experience is definitely what you make of it.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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