Sarah Armstrong, a University of Virginia (UV) senior, spent last summer helping NASA test-launch rockets, and monitor computers in a control room. For 12 weeks, Sarah gained experience with the drafting, motors, and electrical systems that make rockets go, and even got a chance to follow around a mission manager as rocket testing commenced. And, yes, she got paid!

Sarah was one of thousands of students to get a taste of professional life through an  

internship

 . Internships were once something in which only medical students participated, or they were glamorized "gopher" jobs where no task was too small. But today, the idea of an internship under the care of a professional is a concept that has spread through almost every industry. And good internships--where you aren't expected to go on coffee runs and make copies all day--are becoming easier and easier to find.

As a UV aerospace engineering major, Sarah received an e-mail one day regarding an internship with Litton PRC, a NASA contractor. She sent in her resume and the next thing she knew, she was seeing firsthand the fundamentals of designing a spacecraft.

"You can learn as much as you want in school, but a lot of times you have to get out there and do it," Sarah explains. The only downfall was returning to school again after her summer internship of no homework and eight-to-five days. "You go back and you're like, 'I don't want to do homework,'" Sarah jokes.

An Education in Helping Others
That certainly rang true for Samantha Robinson. This graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL, earned a degree in sociology, but not before she got a chance to travel to a new city to work toward making a difference in the lives of others. Last fall, Samantha enrolled in Manhattan College's semester internship program where not only did she work at the Ecumenical Community Development Organization (ECDO) in Harlem, NY, but she also took three other classes at the same time. ECDO is a nonprofit organization with an interest in improving housing, social, and economic conditions of low- and moderate-income residents of the Harlem area.

"I helped do intake at shelters, which involved helping find apartments and movers for people temporarily staying at the shelter because they had lost their homes," Samantha explains. One of her best experiences was leading a class discussion in a job-training class, going back and forth with students about what employers expect from their employees. And one of the biggest life lessons that Samantha says she took away from her internship experience is a greater appreciation for the things she has in life.

Samantha's internship also moved her from her hometown of Chicago to New York City for a semester, which she believes was an important aspect of her experience. "It says something about you as a person when employers see that you traveled so far. They think, 'Oh this person must really want [to learn about their field].'"

Next, Samantha will be attending Cornell University in the fall to get her master's degree in city and regional planning. "If I didn't have that internship, I don't think Cornell would've accepted me," she confesses. "My internship at ECDO showed that I'm serious about pursuing a career in urban planning. Graduate schools want their students to have experience, and I have that."

Hidden Job Opportunities
Nicole Skalski, a 21-year-old graduate of Illinois Wesleyan College, got to do what most could only dream of through her internship with the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago, IL. She worked in the auditing department, and was able to observe how all the different departments of the Federal Reserve work, as well as head down to the vault and count billions of dollars in cash!

"All the money was packaged; we just counted to make sure all the packages were there," she explains. That's just one of the cool things Nicole did during her 10-week-long paid summer internship. One of the best things, says Nicole, was getting to see how all those concepts she learned about in her business and management classes applied to the workplace. Her new professional background helped her, too, when it came time to hit the books again. Even when she went back to school for her senior year, she explains, her summer experiences enabled her to get even more out of her classes.

Nicole considers herself lucky to have found an internship that she really loved. Simply put, Nicole compares an internship to buying a car: "It's like a test drive of a real job."

Even better news for Nicole--she was offered a position at the Federal Reserve Bank at the end of her internship, and she works there today. This is a definite internship perk, since you've got an edge on other job applicants should an entry-level position become available upon your graduation.

Been There, Done That
Tim LaVelle, an intern veteran, knows the value of an internship. In fact, the company he founded, the Web-based Rising Star Internships (www.rsinternships.com), allows students from high school to graduate school to browse through internship postings from companies nationwide.

"It's like the classified ads in the newspaper," explains LaVelle. "The goal here is to give students a quick and easy way to find an internship."

According to LaVelle, there are three main reasons you should try to get an internship at some point in your pre-professional life. The experience alone looks impressive on your resume. Plus, he says, you'll have a chance to network with real professionals who can help in your future career. If nothing else, internships can be personally enriching, ensures LaVelle, giving you a sense of purpose and self-confidence you didn't know you had.

So how do you get one? It's simple, really, says LaVelle. First, get yourself a good resume. If you don't have any experience relative to your career choice, that's not a problem. When writing your resume, outline the skills you do have, the classes you've taken, and any other activities that show you would be a promising candidate for an internship position. Next, brush up on those interview skills. Dress like a professional, be on time, make good eye contact, and show your interviewer that you're really interested in working for the company. Finally, find out as much as you can about an organization for which you'd like to intern. Search its Web site for internship news and noteworthy information and opportunities.

My Own Experience
As a senior communications major at Penn State University, I have been lucky to have had three internships. For two summers I was an editorial intern at Prevention Magazine, and for one semester, along with my classes, I was an editorial intern at Central PA Magazine.

I came out of my internships with so much valuable knowledge and experience, I couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to participate in an internship of his/her own. I now have an impressive resume, especially with the addition of the Prevention gig--they are ranked the 14th largest magazine in the United States. I have mounds of writing clips published with my own byline in Prevention and Central PA, and have made various contacts, not only editorial-wise, but also through my research. Through a research project at Prevention, for example, I gained a list of agents for some of the biggest celebrities out there, including Kim Basinger, Sharon Stone, and David Letterman. Not bad for an intern!

I learned so much more from my internships because they gave me the chance to see all aspects of magazine production, from researching to writing to editing to photo shoots and even page layout and design. You just can't get that experience from a professor's lecture or a textbook.

Through my internships, I was given a chance to see if I have what it takes to make it as a magazine journalist. And I know now more than ever that this is really what I want to do for the rest of my life.

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