Setting sail for summer with student internships
Grace Turner, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Caden Sprinkles
With the summer season on the horizon many North Greenville University students are heading toward hands on experience in their fields through work in summer internships.
With the busy schedule maintained by students in the fall and spring semesters, many find the summer the best time to make this off campus progress in their area of study.
Hannah Tilley, a senior biology major, will be completing an internship this summer at Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, South Carolina. This internship will allow her to get experience in her degree concentrations, animal and environmental sciences. She will be spending time doing animal care and education, speaking to families who visit the center.
Tilley discovered this opportunity through online research while exploring opportunities in the state. She then sent in a resume and cover letter and got invited to come in for an interview. After the interview, she received an email informing her that she had received the internship opportunity.
In her internship, Tilley is looking forward to learning more about the reptiles and amphibians at the center, more about public speaking and overall getting hands on experience that is not as available while on campus.
Departments all across NGU require internship credits for their students to break into their desired fields in organizations distinct from NGU. The typical requirements for student internships are that they must take place outside the student’s sponsoring department, be supervised by an expert in the field.
To begin an internship a student must have completed at least 12 hours in their major and be in academic and personal good standing. All student internships regardless of department must be a minimum of 40 hours, excluding travel, and must be completed in one semester.
Another student heading into a summer internship is junior, youth ministry major Caden Sprinkles. He will be interning at Exodus Church in Belmont, North Carolina, working with music and relational ministry. Sprinkles is no stranger to this kind of work, serving as the youth ministry intern at Mountain Creek Baptist Church throughout the school year.
“There is a big level of confidence that comes from actually seeing that it’s not all theoretical work and you can actually do it,” said Sprinkles.
His internships have taught him that ministry is not just black and white on the page. He has learned how to respond to situations, be sensitive to specific groups and how to best care for people.
Junior theatre major Rachel Forester, is heading into her first of two required internships this summer. She will be interning at Asheville Christian Academy as an instructor for their children’s camp producing “Seussical kids”.
Forester’s position is going to be in music leadership, teaching the students the songs for the show. She may also get to work in show choreography, both giving her experience in the concentration of musical theatre.
Although theatre education is not her desired career, Forester looks forward to being better prepared for the field.
Forester said “I would like to know, how you mesh, discipline and teaching together. How do you communicate with kids so that they really understand what you’re saying? Because that can be hard and I want to learn how to do better.”
Although each department has different internship requirements for their students, they are all in place for students to learn and grow as they head toward graduation.
