Valencia College’s Internship and Workforce Services department tabled last week at the annual fall semester Welcome Back Resource Fair. East Campus Valencia College students appealed to tabling staff for information on ways to make their career dreams become a reality.
Francisco Albano is a freshman at Valencia. He plans to finish an associate in arts degree and is considering a major in Business at UCF. He is just starting to figure out how things work at a college campus and how to get from one classroom to the other, but one thing he knows for sure; an internship is part of his plan. “I want to work under the guidance of someone in business, the goal is to learn about the real world,” Albano said.
Students like Albano are coming to the right place. According to the Implementation Coordinator for Internship and Workforce Services, Maria Williams, about 120 students visited the table during the event to get more information on job opportunities. Williams explained that her department helps students connect with companies to get the internships that they want and need in order to graduate, but students have to do their part.
“We don’t place our students directly into internships. We provide them with resources and help them connect with employers in order to help them find the internship opportunity that they are interested in,” Williams said. She added, “The main struggle for students in an internship is to find a balance between work and school and to make sure they are working on something of their interest.”
Williams also highlighted the importance of participating in fairs and events that promote job opportunities and internships at Valencia’s campuses.
Every month there is an information session that explains in detail how students can apply and what the prerequisites are. The dates for 2024 info sessions are September 9, October 7, November 4, and December 2, all of them at 11 am.
The next event will be ‘Magic Is With You’, a Disney College Program event where students can learn more about internship opportunities with Disney. It will take place at Valencia College’s West Campus on Monday, September 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Students must be aware that there are certain requirements to be able to apply for an internship. Students must have completed 12 credits, have a minimum 2.0 GPA, at least one Reading/Writing course completed, one Math course completed, and follow any other program-specific requirements.
Applicants for Spring 2025 internships need to apply between October 11 and December 6.
More information can be found at the IWS website.
