Jenna Crabb, director of Career Services at UNM, said internships are one of the easiest ways to get into the tough job market. It gives the students the ability to engage in a professional setting.
The center works with more than 5,000 companies that offer internships and jobs, she said. There is a job for every degree program.
The center helps students figure out how to network with people and what jobs or internships are beneficial to each student in an effort to bridge the gap, she said.
Erinn Tibbs, a senior English major in professional writing, said her internships have helped her not only shape her career but also helped her get a job writing.
Tibbs said her first internship was with Sandia National Labs as an editor, and then she went on to get another internship at Stone Lion Environmental, also as an editor. Both internships were paid.
While she understands being paid is important, she said unpaid internships offer much needed professional influences, which can be the difference between securing a job and losing it.
Tibbs now works for Carbon Culture Review, an annual publication. She believes that is in part due to her past experience in editing, she said.
Through her many experiences interning, she was able to tailor the last semester of her undergraduate education to fit her new-found interest of technical science writing, she said.
Franz Joachim, general manager and CEO for KNME, said he started as an intern in 1976 for Arizona’s PBS station, KUAT-TV.
It was his experience teaching student interns that brought him to KNME 14 years ago, he said. His previous experience as an intern, and what he learned through it, has greatly influenced his approach to new student interns at the KNME.
Joachim said he has worked steadily to grow the student involvement at the station because he understands the value of working in the field, and because he enjoys working with students.
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“It’s part of our mission — it’s part of what we do. We are an educational institution outside of being a part of the University,” he said.
Students are always eager to learn and have an excellent work ethic, he said. This requires a lot of investment on their part as well as flexibility.
The payout is phenomenal, he said, and most of the interns go on to work in Los Angeles, New York and Washington.
“When you invest this time teaching and fostering really top talent, really intelligent people, and then to see them go on and succeed as you would hope they would, it’s a validation of what you do,” Joachim said.
Joachim said over the years he has noticed that the individuals that have gone into internship programs are more likely to stick to that career path. A lot of students come back to volunteer even after they are done with their internship period.
Casey Curtiss, a professional intern at KNME, said through his previous internship he was able to solidify his passion for film and came back for another paid internship.
Curtiss has worked to show what he is capable of in all of the internships he has had, he said.
He now helps other incoming interns learn about color-correction and other aspects of film production and post-production, he said. This is the case across the board where everyone works to help each other out.
The station aids 10 to 12 students every semester in gaining applicable knowledge, something not many other stations do, he said. KNME is one of the few stations to use Avid, professional editing software that is also used in Hollywood.
Crabb said being a student is the best time to do an internship, and many of those internships turn into full-time jobs post-graduation.
“I would tell every student out there to get an internship — to get that experience,” Crabb said. “You’re going to be more competitive in the interview process. Your resumes and cover letters are going to be great because you have this really comparable experience.”
