Laurel Wayne, a junior majoring in leadership studies with minors in anthropology and studio art, has one foot in the Jepson Leadership School and the other in the School of Arts & Sciences. With the summer only 11 weeks away, she still has no internship offer in her hands and is getting anxious.
“It’s very stressful because getting an internship is so competitive,” Wayne said.
She's not the only one. Many students studying accounting or finance know their plans for the summer, thanks, in part, to the business school's Q-Camp, a two-day career preparation conference held off-campus once a year. But students in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Jepson Leadership School are often unsure of what to do next.
But in the past four years, Jepson and Arts & Sciences have unveiled their own programs to help students like Wayne navigate the world of internships and careers after Richmond. The Jepson Edge Institute and A&S Next help prepare those students without a linear career path for what’s next.
“From my personal experience as a career adviser, I think I have heard arts and sciences students who are looking for [an event] a little more for them,” said Anna Young, assistant director of Career Services and co-creator of A&S Next. “Something that could help to point them in the right direction.”
Though this is only the second year of A&S Next, formerly called A&S At Work, they have already seen a spike in interest with 60 students registered to attend, an increase of over 40 students since last year. Jointly organized by Career Services and the School of Arts & Sciences, their goal is to help students in all years figure out their next step whether that's an internship, a job or networking.
“One thing that this program is designed to do is to translate what [students] are doing inside the classroom to outside the classroom, and how that makes them a candidate that employers are looking for,” Young said.
With a similar goal in mind, the Jepson Edge Institute was created in 2013. Members of the Jepson Alumni Corps established this one-day event to teach leadership students how to market themselves to future employers and prepare for the internship component of the leadership studies major. It is mandatory for junior majors to attend, with 87 students registered for the event.
“One of the hardest things to do when preparing for interviews is to personalize the leadership degree in a conversational way and articulate the value of an education in leadership studies,” Kate Rezabek, co-chair of the Jepson Alumni Corps, said. “Future employers need to be able to connect the dots between what the student learned and how that individual can contribute to their company.”
Wayne, who wants to go into fashion merchandising, has already seen the importance of marketing herself and her diverse areas of study in her internship search.
“I’ve been able to incorporate aspects of my classes such as critical thinking and group work for my leadership major as well as my design-focused eye for my art minor, and my ability to understand people and different demographics for my anthropology minor,” Wayne said.
While the Jepson Edge Institute took place Feb. 14, A&S Next will be held Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Contact reporter Caroline Utz at caroline.utz@richmond.edu.
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