Anne Dreshfield ’13 thought she found the perfect internship last summer with Livefyre, a tech startup in Silicon Valley. It was a blend of her interests in technology and communication and, more important, the company was eager to hire her. There was only one problem – the internship was unpaid.
Enter Career Planning & Resources (CP&R) at Scripps College. Thanks to a number of internship grants the office makes available, students can take unpaid internships without exhausting their savings. Anne applied for – and received – the Landye Family grant, a $4,000 stipend that offset her expenses while living and working in the Bay Area.
“Students like Anne are often left juggling good opportunities with available resources,” says Vicki Klopsch, director of CP&R. “The generosity of people like the Landye family goes a long way in helping a student explore her own potential in a particular field.”
Internship grants at Scripps are highly competitive. Students must formally apply and go through a rigorous review process. In Anne’s case, she was interviewed by six people from the Scripps community, and all applicants are encouraged to undergo mock interviews to broaden their skills finding a job.
“I didn’t major in computer science or engineering,” says Anne. “What I didn’t realize, however, was how companies moving into the online realm still need great writers and communicators to work with their customers. Interning with Livefyre showed me I could get a job in the competitive, relatively small field of community management, and that I could make an impact in a company and its customers, even though I was only an intern.”
The Landye Family Internship Grant allowed Anne to build a lasting – and successful! – relationship with Livefyre. Some of the connections forged even led to a job referral at Facebook.
“I wouldn’t have had the chance to work with Livefyre as an unpaid intern last summer without the help of CP&R,” she says. “I’m happy to say I’ve just signed a contract to work with Livefyre full time this summer, in a very well-paying position.”
Anne is quick to recommend CP&R’s services to anyone at Scripps.
“From discussions about my resume to practice interviews and panels where I can meet inspiring Scripps alumnae, CP&R has been involved with my career plans and decisions nearly every step of the way. There’s no excuse for not taking them up on everything they have to offer!”