As graduation gets closer and closer for seniors, many members of the class of 2018 will begin to finalize their post-graduation plans. For some, this means choosing a graduate school, for others it means accepting a job offer. Some students will also spend the next year traveling, while others might spend the year doing an internship as they prepare to apply to graduate school.
On April 10th, the Skidmore Career Development Center (CDC), with the help of a donor, announced a new internship award that will likely help one—or possibly two—more seniors with post-graduation plans. The $15,000 Post Grad Internship Award will be awarded to a senior who is planning on doing a six-month unpaid internship.
The funding to cover this award came from a current Skidmore parent. The family wanted to make a donation in celebration of their child’s time and experience at Skidmore, as they felt it was important to give back. The parent believes in Skidmore’s mission and understands the challenges new graduates face.
“By creating this opportunity, it makes a statement that we believe in our Skidmore students and the value in the diploma they just received. And, it is understood that sometimes it may take a little more experience to get students on their way,” said Cora Burns, in charge of Parent Programs and Leadership Giving in the Office of Advancement, and Penny Loretto, Associate Director of the Career Development Center.
Entry-level jobs often require job applicants to have previous work experience, so this program was created to help provide students with an opportunity to gain the relevant experience and skills necessary to be competitive applicants in today’s job market.
This is not the first internship award that the CDC has offered, as every year there are $4,000 and $5,000 summer internship funding awards. But this is the first award for recent graduates that the CDC has offered. Previously there “has been other pre-professional opportunities, like the Winter Internship, which awards a recent graduate an internship at the Tang,” said Burns and Loretto. This is also the first post-graduation award/opportunity offered that allows students from multiple disciplines to apply, as this internship funding award is open to students of any major.
At the moment, there will be funding for only one or two of these awards, but since the response has been overwhelming already, the CDC would like to be able to continue to provide this award in the coming years. It is currently unknown how competitive it will be to get this award, since applications for current seniors are not due until May 4th.