Carina Beck MSU Career Services Seeks Help From Alumni in providing student internships by Carol Schmidt Jacob Ormes did not have time to mess around. The 26-year-old senior majoring in civil engineering from Astoria, Ore., came to Montana State University with a wife and three kids and a goal of working for the U.S. Forest Service. After his sophomore year at MSU, he applied for, and received, an internship as an engineer-trainee with the forest service. After two summers as an intern, he will begin his full-time career with the forest service shortly after he graduates in May. Ormes said the internship gave him a leg up in his chosen career. "I was very lucky (to have the internship)," Ormes said. "It was perfect timing. I got started on a program." That is the reason that MSU Career Services is launching a new internship program for university students. Carina Beck, director of MSU Career Services, is asking the cooperation of MSU alumni in finding internships for MSU students in their companies. The MSU Alumni Association is helping her reach out to employers and alumni to assist with developing the MSU internship program. "How important is an internship to students?" Beck asks. "It's the No. 1 reason why new college graduates are hired, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In fact, many employers expect that students have had internships." Beck said that the new program provides a service for the academic department, student and employer because MSU Career Services maintains information ranging from company or organization to location and average salary by major. "We also provide a learning agreement contact and a soft-skills training program for the student, if the employer wants the new intern to participate," she said. "Academic departments are still doing internships. We help them track their numbers and arrange for interviews where appropriate." However, it is Beck's goal that every student who wants an internship has that opportunity. For that to happen, she needs the help of MSU alumni who can offer an internship through their place of employment to work with Career Services to recruit an MSU student. "Internships are more and more part of a student's academic growth and personal education. They don't need to be for credit and often aren't as long as employer and student realize this is intended to be a learning and growing experience." Carol Rutlen, '75 Commerce, says that interns can also help their employing company. She said an effective internship program produces value in three areas - for the employer, the interns and the school. "Internships filled an important role in our office," said Rutlen, who hired interns from MSU when she was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Rulen is now president and CEO of her own company, ExpatEdge in Palo Alto, Calif. "Our workload peaked in February and March," Rulen explains. "We used interns to handle the additional work." She said that for several years the company used interns from area universities "with mixed results." "As a result, I looked to other alternatives, including MSU. At MSU, the business school was very supportive. We were able to attract top students, and the results were obvious. The MSU interns were great. They outperformed their counterparts from the local schools. MSU became a great resource of people for our internship program." Beck adds that the famous "MSU work ethic" makes MSU students good candidates for internships. "We really believe we have the cream of the crop here," Beck said. Beck said employers can interview MSU students interactively using Career Service facilities. "We hope one day every student who wants to have an internship will have one during his or her junior year." Beck urges alumni who are interested in providing an internship for an MSU student to call the MSU Career Center at (406) 994-4353 or e-mail her at careers@montana.edu.