Students share internship experiences at poster session

Over 40 students presented internship posters at an event held on Sept. 13 in JFK Lounge.

“I think that this showcases some of the best internships that our students have done over the past year or last summer,” said Kate Labriola, Assistant Director of Career Services.

This was the first year for the University-wide internship poster session. A similar event previously took place that involved just the School of Sciences.

“It’s giving future students and underclassmen a great opportunity to see what’s out there,” said Labriola. “It encourages them to maybe apply for an internship themselves because they see that other students are actually doing it.”

Internships ranged from opportunities at the Bank of America to the Pittsburgh Zoo. Many students also used the summer as an opportunity to conduct research in their respective fields.

“I think through this internship I found out that I don’t want to, full time, sit at a desk,” said Shannon Szymusiak, a senior Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering major. “I would like to do some type of field work.

“This internship gave me a better idea of what I want to do when I graduate.”

Szymusiak interned at Advanced Resource International in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she completed work using the Well Leakage Analysis Tool (WLAT). This tool measures the amount of carbon dioxide leakage over time.

Both Labriola and Szymusiak stressed how important it is for students looking for internships to start looking early.

“Start looking now, even if you don’t want to do it this summer or this school year because it is never too early to start getting an idea of what you want to do,” Labriola said.