Path to Employment
Career Services collaborates with 色情视频 colleges to enhance student internships.
Students enrolled in 鈥減rofessional鈥� majors such as journalism and hospitality and tourism management know that internships are a fundamental piece of their university education.
Now, a new twist on the traditional internship is enhancing the educational experience for these majors and thousands of other 色情视频 students.
Guided internships are paid, for-credit internships completed in conjunction with an academic class that helps students merge classroom and professional experience.
More than 5,600 色情视频 students were enrolled in 228 internship classes across the academic spectrum in 2012-2013.
Student success
Many of the internships are developed and maintained through , a division of Over the last decade, Career Services has built partnerships with companies and organizations in the San Diego region to create career opportunities for 色情视频 students.
The division has also established a network of Aztec alumni who, through their employers, provide internship opportunities for 色情视频 students.
鈥溕槭悠� alumni are active in San Diego and want to make a difference here on campus,鈥� said James Tarbox, director of Career Services. 鈥淢any of them want to contribute to the development of 色情视频 students through internship programs.鈥�
Tarbox characterized for-credit internships as high-impact experiences, central to student success.
He noted that student success is one of the three primary goals of Building on Excellence, the recently completed strategic plan that established the direction and priorities of the university for the years ahead. Other goals are research and creative endeavors; and community and communication.
Sharing experiences
Tarbox teaches BA 401, a guided internship class for undergraduates in the , in which the group discusses resume-writing, networking, job interviews and related issues. He has set up a Linkedin group for the class to exchange information, articles, advice and experiences.
In a recent post, finance major Adam Seperack shared his experience working for Hackett Herman, a wealth management group associated with global banking giant UBS.
鈥淚 have dabbled in everything from preparing tax packets for top clients to coordinating marketing events,鈥� Seperack said. 鈥淪ome of the work is marketing, rather than directly finance-related, but I think it will be useful in a number of different starting positions.鈥�
Lucy Velasquez is also a student in BA 401. Her internship with the advertising and branding agency i.d.e.a. has opened up new opportunities for the marketing major, who will graduate this month.
鈥淚鈥檝e done research when the agency is attempting to pitch a new client, and I鈥檝e also analyzed the traffic to clients鈥� websites using Google Analytics,鈥� said Velasquez. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting to learn what the consumer wants and what the clients are looking for.鈥�
Hundreds of opportunities
Linda Guzzo supports the students in BA 401 and other guided internship classes in 色情视频鈥檚 College of Business Administration.
She is part of the college鈥檚 Center for Corporate and Community Involvement, dedicated to creating and maintaining relationships in the San Diego business community.
鈥淲e have service learning agreements with more than 500 companies,鈥� Guzzo said, 鈥渁nd we look at every one to be sure both students and companies are benefiting from the internships.鈥�
Career dreams
In 色情视频鈥檚 Department of Journalism and Media Studies, former journalist and current faculty member Nicole Vargas supervises as many as 100 student interns per semester.
"For students in our majors鈥攋ournalism, public relations, advertising and media studies鈥攊nternships serve as the bridge from the educational experience here at San Diego State to the career they dream of pursuing after graduation,鈥� Vargas said. 鈥淚t is for many the first real taste of life in a professional setting.鈥�
Amanda Guerrero is a print journalism major, but an internship at KPBS opened her eyes to the opportunities in radio, television and online journalism.
鈥淚've been able to apply the skills from my journalism classes in a professional setting,鈥� said Guerrero, who was accepted as the sole copy editing intern at the Seattle Times for summer 2013.
Graduating seniors and recent alumni are invited to attend Career University, an intensive four-week training to help with the job search. Call 色情视频 Career Services at 619-594-6851 or visit for more information.
