Popularity of Summer Internship Program Soars

Summer Internship Program first got its start at Holy Cross in 2000, a grand total of 13 students participated: 11 in New York and two in Boston.

Eight years later, SIP boasts 134 internship sites and a program roster of 361 students. And the competition for the selective program is getting stiffer: “A total of 392 students applied for 270 slots this year,” says Amy Murphy, director of SIP.

SIP opportunities range from cancer research at the Bennett Cancer Center in Stamford, Conn., under the tutelage of Dr. Sal Del Prete P’07, to managing a summer jobs program for Worcester youth at the Pleasant Street Neighborhood Network Center to contributing to the Wal-Mart Christmas Catalog under the management of the Geppetto Group’s CEO, Julie Halpin Anderson ’84.

The program began to emerge at the College in the late-90’s when internships were predominately popular only at preprofessional schools. “Holy Cross students were missing out,” says Murphy. “Companies were hiring graduates from other colleges because of their internship experiences.”

Then, alumni and parents formed the Holy Cross Leadership Council of New York in an effort to promote Holy Cross in the city through internships. Murphy, already working in the Career Planning Center, was hired to spearhead a summer internship program.

This program’s increasing popularity is due to many reasons.

“Part of it is the nature of the job market,” says Murphy. “When the program first started, internships were expected to be a fad or trend. But as the job market today gets tighter and tighter, companies expect graduates and job applicants to have internship experiences. Many companies don’t even recruit anymore, but simply hire their interns, so the internship acts like an extended interview.”

Students’ attitudes toward internships have also changed.

“Nowadays, students are savvier about what it takes to get a job,” says Murphy. “Coming into college when the program first started, obtaining an internship wasn’t on a students’ radar. Now, they understand its importance.”

The popularity also points to other unique aspects of the program. “No other college has a selective student program pre-internship placement that works with the students intensely,” emphasizes Murphy. “We also work with a pool of internships that are available exclusively to Holy Cross students. We are also unique in our connection to the students’ experience with site visits, follow-up evaluations and exit interviews, including asking the question of their experience: ‘So what?’ ”

Having an alumnus or parent at a student’s internship site is also a huge benefit for an intern. “Because there is someone there committed to Holy Cross and to the student, some of that begrudging ‘intern work’ is kept at a minimum,” says Murphy. “There is also someone there to bring students into meetings and introduce them to the big players at the company. It’s also nice to have a friendly face around as a go-to person to ask questions that you may be uncomfortable asking your direct boss.”

This summer, Ann Schufreider ’09 is interning at Mass General under Dr. Richard Paul Cambria ’73, chief of the division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. “Dr. Cambria has been a great mentor, answering my questions and explaining the surgeries as he goes along,” says Schufreider. “He has even taken myself and the two other Holy Cross interns out to dinner to offer us advice about pursuing medicine and to give us the opportunity to get to know him.”

Nearly all of the internships are paid positions, funded through various sources, says Murphy. About 60 percent are paid through the host site, 19 percent through a stipend from the Leadership Council, and 9 percent by the General Alumni Association Summer Fellowship Program. The remainder is supported by Holy Cross permanent funding of the Lilly Grant, the Atchinson Family Fund, and the J.D. Power Worcester Internship Fund.

The evolution of the program also has brought about different industry popularities across time. “There are some industries that have always been popular like public relations, advertising, teaching, education and social justice,” says Murphy. “There’s been a spike recently in law enforcement and homeland security. The beauty of Holy Cross is that as industries and job markets shift, along with students changing interests, so too can the Summer Internship Program.”

The program is expected to grow even more following the success of a challenge grant by J.D. Power ’53. Due to strong support of alumni — participating at a record-setting rate of 55 percent — Power contributed $500,000 to fund internships in his hometown of Worcester. “What we’ll do now is begin to network intensely in Worcester with businesses,” says Murphy. “We want to get our foot in the door and make the connections. The contribution also allows us to pay interns who currently aren’t getting paid by their host site in the area.”

The goals for the program emerged early in its development and remain the same today: “Helping students figure out where their interests, skills and values fit in the world of work for better or for worse,” says Murphy. “I would say that even if the internship isn’t a perfect fit for a student, it is still successful because he or she is able to go from there and get one step closer to finding that fit. Once you know where you fit, you have the related experience to back that up.”

Jess Napolitano ’09 is doing research on autism at Autism Speaks in New York City. Her internship was set up by Bob Wright ’65, who, with his wife, Suzanne, established the foundation.

“I chose to participate in SIP at the end of my sophomore year because I knew it would be a great opportunity to explore my career options early,” says Napolitano. ”Participating in SIP has done just that. It has truly opened me up to fields that I would have never even considered had I not been in SIP.”

By Lauren Lanzon ’09