So high school is over and the next step is college.  This step guarantees a great job and future, or does it?  Four years of college is meant to educate and prepare students to enter the workforce of a particular field, but today many employers are looking for graduates who also have some work experience.

Most UAF departments strongly recommend work experience, but some departments actually require their students to participate in an internship, practicum, or some other sort of hands-on training.

Students working on a bachelors in the social work department are required to take two practicum classes, each worth six credits and equaling 400 hours of work . 

Senior Lynn Burkett is putting in her time with the public guardians at the Office of Public Advocacy.  Burkett spends 16 hours a week helping fill out paperwork that will help incapacitated people receive funding for necessities.  Burkett said she has found her internship very helpful because she has learned more about herself and how she would react in different situations and ethical dilemmas. 

"There's a big difference in social work in theory and social work in practice, " Burkett said.

Burkett's department is very involved in assisting their students in finding a campatible place to build experience during their practicums. Social work students are presented with information about various agencies in Fairbanks.  They then pick three of their favorite and turn them into the practicum coordinator, who decides which agency will give the student their maximal experience.  Following this, students are interviewed and offered positions. 

Burkett's practicum has given her a step up by allowing her to make contact with many important people from other agencies in Fairbanks.

"I can feel the difference on how prepared I am now to be a social worker as compared to a year ago," Burkett said with a smile.  She is confident she will be able to find a great job in Fairbanks after graduation this May.

The Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption agency office manager, Cathi Martinez, said that the agency would be willing to give a jobs to graduates of the social work program as long as their internship experience relates to the desired job. 

 "Counseling is like an art, it takes more than just book learning, it takes experience for situations that won't come up in a classroom," Martinez said about the importance of obtaining experience.

Burkett's future seems promising but for some students, even obtaining experience may not ensure a great job in Fairbanks.  The communication department does not require students to have an internship but this didn't stop Brandon Maitlin when he was offered an internship with the UAF Career Services.

Maitlin works 10 hours a week as a public relations intern.  He said his tasks are varied but they definitely offer him broader experience. He said his internship has helped him to round out his education and learn to apply what he has learned in the classroom practically.

"I've learned a lot.  I'm shaping a career that I'll be satisfied with," Maitlin said.

He is confident that his internship will make him a "much more competitive candidate" when entering the workforce. 

However, The Berry Company, a local advertising agency, said that they would always consider a business major with an advertising emphasis over a communication major.  So where would a communication graduate be assured a job?

According to the comm. Department, one of UAF's communication alumni is known to have worked for the local television station KTVF and the North Star Weekly.  Another, according to fellow communication students, has worked for the local electricity company GVEA.

Teresa Sharpe of GVEA says that she would definitely consider a communication major for a position at the company.  But acknowledges that she actually goes for experience.

"Whatever makes an applicant stand out," Sharpe said, "A nice mix…having experience in the area they want to be hired in."

She said that the experience she likes to see in applicants can come from any number of things, including running their own business, internships and even volunteering.

But of course she could only offer a job if it was in the business' needs.

Once college might have been impressive enough, but today nothing is guaranteed and a student must juggle scholastic achievements along with gaining useful experience in order to stand out.

Students interested in exploring internship opportunities can find help at the career services office in room 512 of  the Gruening Building.

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