As summer unfolds, more than 100 Bellarmine students are settling into internships, gaining real-world experience in numerous fields, across public and private sectors.
That includes Rhianna Clemons, an Environmental and Political Science major who earned the highly selective Henry Clay Internship at NASA and Tucker Shuff, a Communications major, who landed a nationally competitive internship at the Library of Congress.
Experiential learning is a critical part of the Bellarmine experience, so much so, the university guarantees every student will have the opportunity to land an internship, develop a career plan and build professional networks.
“We’re very proud of Rhianna, Tucker and all our interns,” said Lauren Coffey, assistant director of employer relations and experiential learning in Bellarmine’s Career Development Center. “In surveys, students overwhelmingly report that their internships help them develop the skills and connections achieve their career goals.”
Clemons, a rising senior who plans to study wildlife ecology or marine biology in graduate school and become a researcher, applied for numerous science-related internships this summer.
“I honestly applied to NASA as a shot in the dark hoping to fulfill every child's dream to work with NASA,” she said.
She was offered a summer position working with the Office of the Chief Scientist at NASA that promises students “exposure to the most important work in space exploration.” Only one college student in Kentucky is awarded the internship a year.
“I hope to gain work experience and improve upon my technical and communication skills,” Clemons said. “Also, I am excited to begin increasing my professional network, including with the chief scientist of NASA.”
Shuff, who started his internship in May, is writing and publishing blog posts for the Library of Congress database.
“I really admire it as an organization and think it offers a wide array of invaluable experiences,” he said. “I hope to gain experience in writing and content production which will aid me in my future career endeavors in media and broadcasting.”
Fifteen other students will be participating this summer in Bellarmine’s Live.Work.Lead.Serve program, which provides paid internships in the nonprofit and government sectors of Louisville and Southern Indiana.
The program, funded by the James Graham Brown and Ogle foundations, supports Bellarmine’s mission to engage students with the community while they explore career paths. These award recipients complete more than 1,800 hours of community service annually.
Bellarmine offers two courses that prepare students for internships and their profession of choice: “Major & Career Pathways” and “Internship Preparation and Success.” Students who complete those classes are also eligible for the Summer Internship Scholarship, which provides free tuition for a three-credit summer internship course.
Madisen Sullivan, a criminal justice major, interned for the Center for Women and Families.
“I learned a lot about trauma-informed care,” Sullivan said. “I learned how to safety plan with those experiencing trauma or at a high risk for experiencing trauma. I learned a little more about legal methods that can be taken to protect those experiencing trauma. I feel more confident in my ability to walk a survivor of trauma through the legal system.”
In post-internship surveys, more than 75 percent of internship supervisors said they would hire their Bellarmine student if a position was available within their office.
Kevin McCabe of Kort Physical Therapy said he would “absolutely, without a doubt” hire intern Elizabeth Shinkle.
“Elizabeth comes to work with great attitude and willingness to learn,” he said. She’s “always willing to help in any way and is loved by patients.”