Summer internships

New England Journal of Higher Education, The, Summer 1998

While some students spend the summer lolling on the beach or rappelling down mountains, others work on teams splicing genes, developing new computer programs, analyzing hazardous waste in stream beds and starting a soft-shell clam hatcheryall through working in summer internships.

Why are internships so important? Because they introduce students to real-life tasks, bring them into contact with various personalities and workplace styles and prompt them to see more career options.

Through the New England Board of Higher Education's Environmental Internship Program, 62 college juniors and seniors from campuses around New England were provided with 10 weeks of supervised environmental work this summer at New England state agencies, private companies and nonprofit organizations. Veronica Webster, a University of Vermont intern who researched natural wastewater treatment centers at Living Technologies in Burlington, Vt., said of her experience, "The internship has helped me to bring my career options into focus, and it is great to have a head start."

Summer internships are doubly important for minority students interested in science, math and engineering. National studies conducted by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the University of Colorado's Elaine Seymour have found that most minority students internalize negative and belittling signals received over the years about their ability to do well in science. The result is shaky self-confidence.

When minority students are given the opportunity to do hands-on work in a lab, or participate in field work with a faculty mentor and other undergraduate and graduate students, they realize they are capable of doing real science and being a valuable and productive member of a team.

According to Jean Girves, director of the Midwest's Summer Research Opportunity Program based at the Big Ten universities, minority college students are often "transformed" by their internship experiences; 60 percent to 70 percent of those in the program become single-minded in their decision to attend graduate school and pursue science careers.

African-American Bryant Nelson, who earned a doctorate in chemistry at UMass-Amherst and is now a researcher at Pfizer Inc. in Groton, Conn., is such a success story. 'I highly recommend internships," he says. "They boosted my confidence, helped me gather inside information about science careers and resulted in wonderful alliances with senior scientists who help me in so many ways with my career development."

The General Electric Fund, realizing the importance of internships, has urged NEBHE to guide into summer internships a large number of students who participate in NEBHE's Science Network for underrepresented minority students from high school through graduate school. The GE Fund has also provided support for NEBHE to update its Web directory of available internships. (See www.nebhe.org.)

At an October 1998 meeting of NEBHE's Science Network to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an "Internship Fair" will also alert students to internship opportunities in a variety of venues.

After the MIT meeting, NEBHE staff will make sure, through careful follow-up, that Science Network students are right in line for summer 1999 internships. The pay,off is substantial!