You want to add internship experience to your résumé, but you don’t want to wait until summer to do it. You have a 12-month lease and don’t want to try to find a sublessee, let alone lose money on the deal (trust me, you will), so you’re stuck in East Lansing for the next year. You need internship credit in order to graduate and your off-campus job isn’t career-related—or you may have an on-campus job that is career-related, but isn’t officially an internship. Do any of these dilemmas sound familiar? Problem solved: with the new(ish) Internships@State program, you can get valuable experience and learn what it’s like to work in your field of choice without leaving campus. Or, if you really do want to leave campus, you can work with one of the 240 MSU departments worldwide.

Patterson took this photo of students studying by the river for her internship.

Patterson took this photo of students studying by the Red Cedar for her internship.

This program sounds just fine and dandy in theory, but does it actually work? Can you really get career-related experience by working for MSU? Katelyn Patterson, a journalism major who graduated in August 2009 and did a shared photography internship with the MSU Police Department, Human Resources, Academic Technology Services, Physical Plant, and the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Operations, from May to August, thinks you can. Read on to see what her experience was like.

CSN: What prompted you to do an internship?
KP: I needed a summer job that was relevant to my field of study.

CSN: How did you find out about the Internships@State program?
KP: MySpartanCareer.

CSN: What was the application process like? How long did it take to obtain the internship?
KP: I sent my résumé and portfolio and heard from my supervisor a few months later. I interviewed in front of a panel of women, who would later become my bosses. After the interview I had to complete a test assignment. From the time I applied to the time I was hired, it took about two or three months to obtain the job.

Patterson took this photo of Police Department bike training.

Patterson took this photo of Police Department bike training.

CSN: What were your responsibilities at your internship? How many hours a week did you work and what was a typical day like?
KP: I worked 20 hours a week. I was responsible for consulting with my five supervisors to set up assignments weekly. A typical day was spent with the Physical Plant crews. I found myself on the highest roofs on campus, in the steam tunnels, and even riding bikes with the Police Department.

CSN: What were the strong points or highlights of your experience?
KP: Every day was different and I gained a much greater appreciation for MSU.

CSN: What was the most significant thing you learned on the job?
KP: The academic sector of the University could not function without the wonderful workers of the Physical Plant.

CSN: In what ways were you able to incorporate knowledge gained from your classes into the workplace?
KP: I was using things I learned in my photojournalism classes while on the job.

CSN: How has your internship affected your career goals?
KP: My internship gave me the opportunity to make use of what I enjoyed from my classes and reinforced my desire to be a photojournalist.

CSN: Do you have any general advice for students who are interested in the Internships@State program?
KP: Internships are a great way to learn outside of the classroom; a paid internship is even better.

Click here to see a gallery of Patterson’s work for the Physical Plant.