The following is an excerpt from an article that was published in the May 8th, 1998 edition of The Memphis Business Journal, featuring an interview of our Director, Betty McWillie.

Every Fall and Spring more than 60 businesses invade the Christian Brothers University campus in search of a rare commodity, vital to a thriving professional community--promising young talent.

Graduating seniors are by no means the only target for firms with growing internship programs, which begin to recruit part-time workers as early as the late-freshman and sophomore year. As the Rhodes College Career Services' flyers say: "Visiting us after graduation is like studying for finals after the exam."

Going to college is no longer about learning for four years, then staggering aimlessly into the real world. The (Career Center) at Christian Brothers University, headed by Betty McWillie, strives to meet the future career needs of both college-age and adult students, by holding a job fair for each in the spring and one large, combined event in the fall. Not only has the school had success in placing many of the attending students in intern or permanent career positions, but CBU also won a national award for its emphasis on career planning.

The university requires that all students serve an internship before the senior year, with the hopes that most of them will serve at least two internships. McWillie is enthusiastic about the growing career services department at CBU, which on average is used by at least 85% of the student body.

Students are required to turn in a resume, with the help of available resume consultation, which is entered into a database. Interviews, held on campus, are then set up for each student.

"Our goal isn't restricted to that specific company hiring that intern after graduation," says McWillie. "Any experience that combines the classroom with the real world is valuable."

McWillie finds that internships are often useful in confirming or re-thinking the career path that a student initially has chosen.

"Quite often," she says, "a student will come to me positive that they want to go into a certain area. Serving an internship gives them the knowledge and discernment to make the right connections."

Working in conjunction with many large Memphis companies including Federal Express Corporation, The City Of Memphis, and Smith & Nephew, to name a few, McWillie tries to place sophomores and juniors on a career track which will allow them to step into a full-time position soon after graduation. She believes that it is never too early for students to begin exploring their options.

"It's going back to the old European custom of apprenticeships," McWillie says.

Rhodes noticed the need for a program to push and to guide students into the business world in January 1991 when the school opened its Career Services office, headed by Sandy George Tracy. The program has rapidly grown from seven participating students in spring of 1991 to 85 in the spring of 1998.

The number of participating Departments has increased as well. The program has grown from mostly English and business majors to include math, biology, computer science, and history majors. The most recent addition is the foreign languages department.

Foreign languages interns have opportunities to work as AAA translators or to tutor visiting French business people.

The majority of Rhodes internships are 10 unpaid hours a week, with student receiving three hours of credit.

According to Tracy, Rhodes is working on a paid internship program, but most of these require a time commitment of 20-30 hours week, presenting a scheduling problem since the majority of Rhodes classes are held during the day, when most students would be at work.

Not only do the types of internships vary for Rhodes students, but there is a wide range of responsibilities that the students take on. Tracy sees many advantages to the internship program. Often, an internship can lead to a career position, but even if it doesn't, it can be a profitable networking opportunity for students, she says.

The number of Rhodes internships that result in a full-time position varies, but such companies as Ernst & Young, First Tennessee, and National Bank Of Commerce have a history of hiring Rhodes interns.

The University Of Memphis does not have a centralized career services department, due to its many departments and large student body. Many of the departments of the University have their own internship programs.

One is the Wang Center for International Business's Internship Program, headed by Ben Kedia. The two-year program requires students to serve a four-month internship in Mexico, France, Germany or China the semester before graduation. Students are exhaustively prepared for this experience by learning the language, culture and business practices of their host country. The International Business department will not only be sending 15-18 students abroad this year, but also will receive 13-15 students from other countries, who will be placed in Memphis internship positions in such companies as Dobbs International, FedEx, Smith & Nephew, and Sofamor Danek Group.

"The companies like the level of work these students can do for an inexpensive amount of money, since they are only one semester away from their MBA," Kedia says, "and the students get experience."

The International Business Department requires that all interns be paid. "It helps the companies and students take the internship more seriously," Kedia says.

Although it is not the only goal of the program, the Wang Center for International Business has enjoyed a 25%-33% success rate of internships resulting in career positions. Often, students serving an internships in a foreign country will be placed in an American affiliate office, which can improve their chances of landing a stateside job with that company after graduation.

Internship programs are not unique to colleges and universities. Smith & Nephew has many internship programs of its own, headed by Charles Force, director of Human Resources.

In one, linked with State Technical Institute, students are interviewed for a two-year program in the Quality Assurance Area, hopefully resulting in a full time position. Smith & Nephew also has a co-op program with Kingsbury High School and State Tech called the "school to work transition program." Under the plan, students from Kingsbury attend State Tech for two years, and work internships with Smith & Nephew.

"Our purpose with our internship program is two-fold," says Force. "We would like to assist in the development of students at various scholastic levels.

"I think if they get exposure to the workplace and work environments it will enhance the development of their personal goals. It also provides an opportunity for us to attract good talent in hopes that they can work here when they graduate," he says.

Smith & Nephew also has several international internships programs. The company assists with the Rhodes-Buckman Overseas Program for Rhodes students for 6-8 weeks in the summer by identifying an overseas work position and housing. Smith & Nephew also funds a program through the U of M to send two students abroad for a semester in Mexico or France.

The company also participates in a program with the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England, in which Smith & Nephew receives two students for eight weeks to work in either Human Resources or Marketing. The internship completes one of the student's requirement for college.

Smith & Nephew also strives to give direction and experience to pre-college students through the city-wide Memphis Youth Initiative. Students 15 years and older registering through the Private Industrial Council work 30 hours a week for six to eight weeks in the summer.

CBU Career Center
Barry Hall 237
650 East Parkway South
Memphis, Tennessee  38104
Phone: (901) 321-3330
Fax: (901) 321-3332
career@cbu.edu

Office Hours:
Monday thru Friday
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesdays
8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
(during Fall & Spring semesters)

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