Celebrating National Intern Day

Internships are an amazing way to gain experience, make connections, and learn new skills that can help you build your resume and find out what kind of position you would like to pursue as a career.

Internships are so much more than sitting back and watching employees do their job; they are opportunities to get hands-on experience in the field you are interested in pursuing. Interns are the future of the workforce, and on July 28, National Intern Day is celebrated to highlight just that.

At Bryant & Stratton College, we recognize the importance of internships. They serve as an important final flourish for the on-campus degree programs at Bryant & Stratton. They give students hands-on experience in their degree field, allow students to make strong connections, and develop vital career skills. Interns can give to a company just as much as a company can give to them. The internship program at Bryant & Stratton College is managed by the Career Services team.

Although a required internship is not a part of an online program curriculum at Bryant & Stratton, online students do take the Capstone 270 course to get related internship experience.

It is important that employers understand that interns are so much more than just students completing internship hours and how beneficial the program can be to both the intern and the company. Investing in a diverse internship program can make a big difference and allow a company to continue to grow and thrive; it can also present an opportunity to gain valuable new employees.

Why You Should Consider Pursuing an Internship

Kelly Mariani, Bryant & Stratton College’s system manager of career services, knows firsthand how important internships can be on the resume of someone just starting out. She said, “Employers consistently tell us that an internship experience on a resume can give an entry-level job seeker an edge on the competition. Even if a student is not hired directly from their internship site, they leave with a professional reference who will vouch for their ability to perform in their field of study.”

Interns are a huge asset to companies, as they will bring their fresh skills and ideas to the table. Being an intern and being able to apply these skills directly in the workforce are extremely beneficial, as they allow you to see the role of your dream career firsthand. Choosing your career can be scary, but having internship experience will allow you to see whether that role is actually what you envision it is when it comes to working in your chosen career.

If you choose to pick that career once you graduate, you will be able to apply what you have learned in your internship, allowing you to have an easier learning experience once you start, and your background possibly can give you the opportunity to teach your company something new. Having these insights will make you feel prepared and can even make you feel more comfortable as you are walking in with knowledge that can help you be successful in the workplace. Knowing how your position applies to the real world and having the valuable knowledge of your specific role make you stand out as the best candidate for a position.

Why Bryant & Stratton College Loves National Intern Day

National Intern Day celebrates future leaders, their hard work, and an equal future. Interns will soon be tomorrow’s future leaders and are the next generation of change makers. They help share new insights and perspectives, which is important as the job market continues to change. Internships can be difficult, tiring, and time-consuming but valuable, making National Intern Day an excellent way to appreciate interns and give them the recognition they deserve.

Kelly Mariani said, “In addition to providing hands-on experience in the student’s field, an internship hones the soft skills that employers are very interested in. Interns learn how to communicate effectively in the workplace and how to respond to various styles of management. When an interviewer asks, ‘Give me an example of a time when you worked as part of a team,’ experiences from the internship can often provide a great example of real-world experience.”

Building a professional network is crucial to helping you start your career path after college, and it is our goal to help students realize just that. This year on National Intern Day and every day, we are so thankful for the hard work our students put into their internships and to our employer partnerships for everything they do to contribute to our students’ valuable internship experiences.