Career Services has announced that the application for the annual Mark and Pearle Clements Internship Award has now opened. This award enables students to undertake unique, self-cultivated internships that may otherwise be financially impossible. Clements interns usually spend the summer months away from the University, working in a professional setting under the supervision of an expert who can help them link practical experience to their studies and career interests.
“It has been very gratifying to support students’ local and international internships that have spanned research and engineering, entertainment and film-making, business and law, creative writing and the fine arts, human service, the environment and much more,” says Charles Reutlinger, an associate director in Career Services and chair of the Clements Internship Committee. “We’re looking forward to seeing what kinds of opportunities students apply for this year.”
Typically valued at between $2,500 and $6,000, these annual awards are presented to full-time sophomore, junior, senior or graduate students from all schools and colleges at the University. There are usually several awards available each year. An award may be used for expenses such as internship-related travel, room and board, and required materials, but may not, in most cases, be used to pay salaries, stipends or tuition. Academic credit may also be earned through an internship, but is not mandatory.
Past winners of the Clements Internship Award have used their awards to work in the Prado Museum in Madrid learning about art financing, curation and running a museum membership program; studying biodiversity and sustainability of marine ecosystems in Myanmar; working with underprivileged minority children in the Mississippi delta region; and many more incredible opportunities that have connected students’ academic interests with their career aspirations.
“Reflecting on the incredible summer I had, I realize my internship at the Prado Museum in Madrid perfectly unified my major and two minors by successfully integrating and applying my three fields of study to real world experience in the work force,” says Ana Ziegler, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “My major in international relations focuses on the discipline of intercultural communications and the geographic region of Europe. As an art history minor, my experience this summer taught me about the masterpieces housed within the Prado’s galleries and educated me on the museum’s art management. It also engaged my Spanish minor through language immersion and familiarizing me with technical terminology used in the field.”
For a completed application, students are required to secure their own internships and submit a personal data sheet, budget, resume, transcript, faculty support letter and proposal, which describes the internship. A final confirmation of the internship position is not required before applying for the Clements Award, but applicants must provide the confirmation of an offer before any money will be released to them.
All application materials must be submitted through the job and internship portal, OrangeLink, by Feb. 5. The OrangeLink Job ID number is 82376. For more information, visit the Career Services website or contact Reutlinger.
