With summer quickly approaching, many AU students have either accepted summer internship positions or are in the process of looking for an opportunity to serve as an intern.

For those that are still searching for an internship this summer, the Career Services Center offers numerous resources for students to assist them in this process. These materials can be found on the Career Services Center web page http://www.ashland.edu/students/academic-support-services/career-services-center.

One of the links includes AU Career Connect. In this database, students can search specifically for internship openings based on their desired career field, geographic area, company and other criteria.

In addition to internet resources, networking serves as another method for obtaining an internship. Networking and talking with others in the field can provide connections that could secure a future internship or even a possible job after graduation.

Sophomore Johanna Mateo found her internship through a recommendation from where she interned last summer.

This summer, she will be interning with Senator John Kerry in Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

“I’m interested in foreign relations and Kerry is the foreign relations committee chair,” Mateo said.

Mateo is also a political science major, so this internship aligns with the concepts learned in her college courses.

Besides networking, an additional piece of advice for internship-seekers is keeping their options open during the application process.

“Apply for many internships,” sophomore Joe Griffith said. “It helps to submit applications to more than one place. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as the saying goes.”

Griffith has an internship this summer at the Claremont Institute in Claremont, California.

“I knew that an internship at the Claremont Institute would be an amazing opportunity for me to gain experience working with one of the top think tanks in America and would sharpen my research and writing skills,” Griffith said.

Overall, internships can provide students with valuable, real-world experiences to enhance their knowledge and prepare them for their future careers.

“I was interested in the internship at such a prestigious organization because it would teach me much about research, writing, synthesizing data and the art of persuasion—all things I hope to use after graduation to further the cause of liberty in America,” Griffith said.

Although many underclassmen may not be applying for internships yet, they can still take advantage of their time off from school in the summer to start preparing for an internship and the job search process.

For example, they could begin formulating their resumes and participating in activities or summer jobs that will help them to obtain an internship in the future.