Developing a New Departmental Internship ProgramKatherine E. Tirabassi, Associate Professor of EnglishKeene State College, Keene, NHCCCC 2015, Tampa, FL

Program Origins

• Keene State’s English major redesign proposed in AY 2010-11, including a new Writing Option.

• College’s Academic Affairs Strategic Plan (2009-2014)

focused on experiential education as a priority (i.e. the time was right for this proposal).

• Faculty-based College Internship Committee was working

to standardize some elements of these widely varied practices, including internship course/per credit hour.

Rationale: Internship as Course

• Course-related internship models already existed on the campus. • The Course-based model provides

• Time for interns to complete internship hours. • Dedicated time for interns to discuss their

experiences (questions, concerns, obstacles, successes) in class. • Opportunities to discuss writing/publishing

trends and students’ future career interests.

Course Assignments/Experiences

• Journal Entries due every other week. • Readings on field trends and transitioning from

academic to workplace contexts.• Explorations of career and graduate school options.• Guest speakers who help interns consider aspects

of writing/publishing that students are not exposed to collectively in their internships. • Portfolio related to the work for the internship and

seminar, including a written analysis of the internship experience and products created during the internship to be used in job interviews, etc.

Logistics: Institutional Infrastructure/Support• 2008-2015: Experiential Learning Coordinator in flux.• Spring 2015: New Internship Coordinator hired.

• College Guideline for four-credit internships during the semester: • 40 hours per credit hour or 160 hours (typically 10-

12 hours/week).

• Internship contract, liability forms now standardized by college lawyer. • Challenge: Administered by me, as program

coordinator (time-intensive).

Timing of the Internship Course

• Spring semesters (face-to-face class meetings about every other week). • Summers (online)

•Challenge: Internship course is not available in Fall semesters.

Initial Program Start-Up Work• Wrote course proposal to be included in the Writing Option

redesign of the English majors. • Sent an introductory email to potential local internship site

supervisors, announcing this new program, and gauging interest. • Created a list of 25 potential internship sites for students to

consider, with contact information of site supervisors, type of internship offered, and types of application materials requested.

• Organized a departmental internship committee to review application materials of potential interns and recommend particular sites for interns to apply.

• Challenge: Local businesses receive multiple requests for interns from Keene State College departments. Currently no college-wide coordination on this issue.

Timeline for Securing Spring Internships• September: • Contact potential site supervisors about their interest in hosting

an intern in the Spring. • Coordinate a Resume Writing Workshop with Career Advising.• Email majors/minors about applying for Spring internships.• Request application materials from interested students for review

by me/departmental internship committee: • Resume draft • Internship and Future Education Career Goals Statement• Writing Sample

• Meet with individual students about internship questions, to sign permission to register form, recommend specific site to apply to.

Timeline Continued

•October:• Work with students applying for internships.

•November/December/January:• Send Internship contract to confirmed site

supervisors. • Give internship liability paperwork to interns

to fill out. • Post a time sheet for interns to keep track of

hours to internship course site (Canvas).

Economics

• Teaching the course yearly is part of Internship Coordinator teaching load. • Summer Internship paid for separately (Continuing

Education)• First year—no funds for guest speakers, brought in local

professionals willing to come to my class. • Spring 2015: Small honorarium to pay 2 speakers, with 2

speakers willing to present for no honorarium. • Professional freelance writer, NHPR freelance producer• Keene State College Corporate Relations Officer (no honorarium)• Bedford/St. Martin’s Press Local Sales Rep. (no honorarium)• KSC English Alumnae in an editing position

Current Program Challenge

• Program is located in one person vs. department: • Sabbatical Spring 2014—course wasn’t taught. • A Necessity—With no college-wide internship

office coordinating these efforts, the connections I’ve made with local businesses are hard to shift to another internship coordinator.• Local Businesses become frustrated when

coordinators change too often.

A Program Success• Variety of Exciting Placements: • Local publishing companies (writing/editing, business)• Local magazines, weekly and daily newspapers

(writing/editing)• Nonprofit organizations (grant writing, professional writing)• Hospital department (professional writing)• Companies (Social Media, editing, etc.) • Libraries (professional writing, archival work)• Campus Offices (Keene State College Marketing and

Communications)• Local yearly events (Monadnock International Film Festival,

Keene State College Medieval Renaissance Forum).

How Students Benefit

• A broader view of writing/publishing-related opportunities, including those available in unlikely sites. • Practical experiences that they can draw on in

subsequent job searches.• Publications and professional writing materials that

they can showcase in interviews, list on resumes, etc. • Connections for future jobs and also for letters of

recommendation. • Opportunities to explore types of work that they

enjoy, to confirm, consider, or reflect on whether this type of job is for them in the future.