Summer Internship/Job Program
by Stephanie Saft

So you think that the only things that go on in the Alumni House are reunions and fundraising? Well, I have news for you. There is also another, relatively unknown enterprise taking place in a little office upstairs: the pursuit of a worthwhile summer.

I first became aware of the Summer Internship/Job Program three years ago when my older son, Brad, was one of the first participants, or rather, beneficiaries. The program is the brainchild of Alumni Director Leslie Waltzer, who recognized the students' need for summer positions and the possibilities within the HM community for meaningful opportunities that often would be otherwise unobtainable. Waltzer created a structure within which HM students could be connected with summer employers, and she began contacting parents, alumni, and friends of the school to become providers. Once again, HM is engaged in the type of important endeavor — job placement — that is usually initiated on a university campus.

Since its inception in 1995, the program has taken on a life of its own and has grown threefold. For the summer of 1998, 60 employers furnished 100 jobs to HM seniors and college-age alumni in fields such as business, the arts, law, medicine, journalism, and public relations. Many of them provided an hourly wage, while other paid a fixed stipend. Some, such as assisting a judge in the courtroom and in chambers, were pure internships providing no salary, but invaluable experiences. Other internships include working with producers and designers in an off-Broadway theater company, doing medical research, and writing for a major magazine. Moreover, in many instances these short-term explorations have resulted in career-defining moments and in offers for full-time positions upon graduation from college.

How refreshing. A perk for our seniors and graduates that requires no studying and no qualifying exams.

This article is reprinted from the August 1998 issue of PA Bulletin.


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