Mercyhurst’s Career Development Center is offering to develop internships for students in their respective career fields.

“A survey published on the Chronicle of Higher Education of over 50,000 employers indicated that the most important attribute employers look for on in a college students resume is internship experience,” said Internship Program Director, Kyle Foust.

In addition to making students more employable, the jobs received by students with internship experience typically have a higher salary and greater benefits than those without. Surveys indicate that supervisors are 100 percent satisfied with Mercyhurst student’s performance.

Also, 93 percent of these supervisors claimed they would hire a Mercyhurst student should an opening arise.

Foust believes that the change to the 4-1-4 term system makes it easier for students to complete internships, as they can have more time to complete one and therefore decrease their workload if they do so during the fall or spring, or focus on their internship only during the J-Term.

Ninety-two percent of interns thought that their internship helped them clarify their career aspirations in a positive way. 96 percent of the students felt their coursework prepared them to do well at their internship and 97 percent of the students felt they were applying the concepts they learned in class at their internship indicating that the satisfaction felt was not one-sided.

“When asked ‘what is your overall opinion of the Mercyhurst Internship Program’ all of the survey respondents were satisfied,” said Foust. “This, obviously, is testimony to the faculty who prepare our students well for the internship and testimony to the students who go out in the field and perform at a high level.”

According to Foust, the majority of internships sought out by students are related to intelligence studies and hospitality majors. However, the Career Development Center helps students apply and plan for internships, regardless of major.

Many internships are placed in the tri-state area, but students can look for internships in other cities or states across the country if so they wish to. The Career Development Center can find both paid and unpaid internships. Foust can be found in Egan 213 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact Foust at (814) 824-2171 or kfoust@mercyhurst.edu.