By Emily Osiecki
When internships are unpaid, students are left to make the decision of whether or not the work experience is worth the financial burden of housing, food and travel/transportation. St. Lawrence University’s Career Services staff is here to help change that, by offering internship fellowship awards to its students.
The Internship Fellowship Awards was established in 1997, created by a gift from Vivien Gardner Hannon ‘43 to “promote leadership and career development opportunities to undergraduate students,” according to the SLU Career Services website. “This award is intended to help offset the cost of living and travel/transportation expenses during the student’s internship experience.” Since then, families, alumni and memorial gifts have been given with the intention of the funding going to this program.
To current students like Kate Bosworth ‘19, the internship fellowship made a huge difference in her summer plans. “My search for a paid summer program in the small city near my hometown had come to a standstill when I couldn’t find the perfect fit on Handshake,” said Bosworth. After hearing about the fellowship award from Career Service’s Associate Director Beth Larrabee, Bosworth was able to continue her search for an ideal internship. “My options expanded substantially after Beth explained I could use the fellowship program to subsidize an unpaid position,” continued Bosworth. “Once being able to select the ‘unpaid’ box, my summer options multiplied and the search for a summer internship became much easier.”
Recent graduate Sydney Fallone ‘17 also utilized the Internship Fellowship Award during her time at SLU. While studying abroad, Fallone accepted an internship position with the World Bank Group, but needed proof of institutional funds because the internship was unpaid. “The internship fellowship not only allowed me to finalize my internship with the World Bank Group, but it made the opportunity to pursue an internship in a major metropolitan area financially possible for me,” said Fallone.
The funding appears to aid students in more ways than one. “I used the award to pay rent, transportation costs and food during my 12-week internship in Washington, D.C,” said Fallone. Bosworth agrees. “This award means that I can graduate on time, so I am ecstatic,” she said. “Without the award, I would have had to fill time outside of [Mercy Hospital] with a part time job to finance the cost of living in a city and overloading on classes during my senior year.”
Due to an increasing number of applicants and a limited amount of funding, it is not always guaranteed that students will receive an award. Associate Director of Career Services, Sarah Coburn, reported that over 115 applicants applied for funding through the Internship Fellowship program this year. However, Coburn is hopeful and positive that the program will continue to expand in the coming years, which means more funds for students. “The goal is to help as many people as people and open as many doors as possible,” said Coburn.
Both student and alumni participants hope to see the same expansion as Coburn. “It is a great way to pursue a summer internship opportunity and meet other students who also received the award,” continued Fallone. “This fellowship program is a testament to the St. Lawrence community and the alumni networks dedicated to helping make the goals and dreams of Laurentians within reach.”