You may have noticed a recent post on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, (as well as under the ‘internship experiences’ link on this blog), advertising the great opportunity On-Campus Internships (in the Business School) provide for FHSS students. Maybe it sounded like a typo to you since it is administered in the Business School, but it definitely is NOT a mistake. You should absolutely, positively, unquestionably take note of this opportunity!
The On-Campus Internship program is an important option that is available to ALL students at BYU, but I think it is particularly beneficial to FHSS majors—who wouldn’t want to have 1 or 2 national/international companies listed under their resume ‘experience’ section to complement their social science degree???
All students in the FHSS College have the opportunity to gain a strong, liberal arts degree, but often employers are not familiar with the background and training provided to social science majors. That means it will be up to you to market yourself after graduation in a way that shows you are a good match for the job. An internship is critical in the process of becoming more marketable. The more internship experience you have, the better you can show a specific skill set proven in an applied setting. Internships help you make the connection between your classroom learning and real-world experience in an organizational setting.
The On-Campus Internship program in the Marriott School gives FHSS students the opportunity to work alongside a variety of majors on a project team and to hear and share different perspectives on the same work product—just like what happens in the real world after graduation! It also provides more ‘work experience’ on your resume, without having to leave campus to get it. The On-Campus Internship will not fulfill your major capstone credit, but it will count towards university elective credit—and more importantly, it will broaden your background and your level of experience which is difficult to accomplish while attending school full-time. The program expects 8 – 10 hours of time commitment from you each week, so it is totally doable in combination with your classes and part-time job–in fact, why not try more than one semester?
These projects cover a wide range of opportunities: from business to food science, web site development to social media, participating in the writing of books to running the BYU Touchdown club for the Athletic department, Document translation to data analysis, etc., etc. I’m happy to discuss the best projects for you in more detail if you would like.
You can find more information on the On-Campus Internship program by clicking on the ‘Internship Opportunities’ link on this blog to see a list of some of the possible projects you can choose from.
Here is a video that provides a quick and easy explanation of the OCI program: http://marriottschool.byu.edu/fieldstudies/student/oncampus/
Please consider fitting an On-Campus Internship into a semester of your regular major program before you graduate. You’ll be glad you did!
