"There are a lot of job opportunities out here. This is good experience for anyone"-Wes Young, Senior at SSU.
Young was required to go to the Service and Internship Fair by his professor Sheila Katz for Sociology 306, but like the 150 other students who attended the fair, he was very glad that he had come.
"The students always come up with their own ideas on how to help us. They are great at incorporating their unique skills into our program"Lauren Peterson, Administrative Assistant and Intern Coordinator from the National Alliance on Mental Illness
When interviewed about her experiences with the Fair, Peterson explained that NAMI has always had good relationships with their interns. Peterson noted that NAMI is usually looking for sociology and psychology majors, but explained how surprised she was to have such success with other majors. One example she gave was of an English major who successfully wrote a grant for one of their programs that helps inmates with mental health.
Sandler is a licensed Physical Therapist, and has been the owner and operator of Renaissance Healing and Learning Center for the past 15 years. Young is a retired speech therapist who assists in side walking for the disabled children and adults who receive physical therapy and sensory motor integration on horseback. Both attend the fair annually because they value the opportunity to meet new students.
Vayder and Berg happily explained, "Our mission is to"revolutionize the animal welfare world by using a nature-based approach. We let dogs socialize in a pack, instead of keeping them miserable in a cage."They also explained what they hoped to get out of the day. "We are always looking for volunteers, but today we hope to find a Social Media Intern who is willing to work 8 to 10 hours a week." GreenDog is just one example of the many opportunities that were waiting for students at the Service and Internship Fair this year.
The fair was held on Wednesday, August 28 at the Salazar Plaza on campus. This year a total of 40 organizations with missions focused on sustainability, childcare, family support, hunger and homelessness, social justice, health, diversity, and many more, came ready to recruit new interns and volunteers. Students came ready to find the right organization for them. Once again the fair was co-beneficial. Community partners walked away with contact information from many enthusiastic students, and students walked away with several internship and volunteer opportunities.
Looking for more ways to connect with SSU students? Check out this blog post about Community Partner Thursdays.
If you are a non-profit looking for volunteers or student interns and want to be a part of next years' Service & Internship Fair, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you to all who helped make this year's Fair a big success.
Want to see more? Check out pictures from the Fair.