Liberal Arts Works
Liberal Arts Career Center helps students gain practical experience alongside their academics to get a foot in the door with potential employers
The Liberal Arts Career Center helps students launch their careers. Through company partnerships, alumni connections, and career-focused programming, the Career Center works to help students gain practical experience alongside their academics and get a foot in the door with potential employers. The Job-Ready program provides financial support—up to $2,000—to make nonpaid or low-paid career-launching internship opportunities a viable option for Liberal Arts students. The following are some of the experiences our own students had using the Career Center and the Job-Ready program for their summer internships.
Allison Hemingway
Film and Video Studies/Mass Communication
Senior
Company: Odd Machine
Internship Title: Production/Post-Production Intern
“The most meaningful experience to me personally in this internship came from the networking. I met so many incredible people throughout this summer, and almost all of them reached out to me with endless ways to help both during my time at Odd Machine and after I had left at the end of the term. Each person I met impacted me in a different way, and I know their advice and help will help me on my journey throughout the rest of my time at Purdue and into my career.”
Destiny Moore
Sociology
Senior
Company: Ascend
Internship Title: Talent Identification Coordinator, Campus Coordinator
“Ascend Indiana has helped me identify skills I didn’t realize I have. The Talent Identification Team does an outstanding job helping you to identify your skills and develop a personalized career path.”
Adam Cullers
Public Relations and Strategic Communication/Political Science/Professional Writing
Senior
Company: The Office of Mayor Joe Hogsett of the City of Indianapolis
Internship Title: Communications Intern
Adam’s summer 2017 internship was “an intersection between each of the three disciplines I’m studying and shed light on the opportunities I could pursue with my unique combination of coursework. Prior to this experience, I wasn’t entirely confident in my majors nor this career path, but I am now eagerly searching out additional opportunities that can expand on the past summer’s experience.
“The communications office of any government office must be able to function with little to no time to prepare, and I can safely say that Liberal Arts has prepared me to work in such an atmosphere. I was consistently having to work on projects last minute and under time constraints, and so time management became crucial in these situations. Additionally, the basic skill of networking and sociability was likely the most important skill I used for my internship. A large component—and arguably the most important component—of government work consists of networking, and walking into this position, I never once I doubted my ability to communicate and connect with other employees.”
Jasmine Edison
Mass Communication/Political Science
Senior
Company: Kheprw Institute
Internship Title: Summer Equity Intern
Jasmine’s summer 2017 internship “prepared me immensely for a career in public service by working with community organizations, local government officials, and youth in the community. I was able to understand how to take the needs of the community and apply them to meaningful and intentional solutions. Staying in communication with community partners and others within my nonprofit organization was a significant part of the work, as was engaging in meaningful discussion around different issues and solutions regarding equity and community. The most exciting aspect of my role was being able to work with a host of different community members and partners and learn about the initiatives that different organizations are working on. I was able to learn so much about the Indianapolis community and its effort to promote equitable living.”
Sara Frey
Theatre Design and Production
Senior
Company: The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
Internship Title: Production Intern at the Lilly Theater
“Working with the Lilly Theater has been a wonderful career-building experience! “My educational background in the multiple facets of theater helped me to be successful in this internship. I am adaptable; I was not set in one position as an intern—meaning I wasn’t confined to just stage management. I set props, helped make costumes, did paperwork, gave tours to donors, and helped as an usher. The theater program at Purdue gave me the tools and knowledge to succeed in these ventures, thanks to the introduction-to-design courses that are part of my curriculum.”
Colleen Rose
Visual Communications Design/General Communication
Senior
Company: Indy Eleven Professional Soccer
Internship Title: Merchandising Intern
“In the sports industry, there are not many typical days. On game days, I would show up about five to six hours before kickoff to help unload all of the merchandise to our two locations. My team would set up tents and then spend the next two hours setting up the stands and the merchandise. Once the gates opened, it was all about selling and interacting with customers. “I was able to use a lot of what I have learned in my Visual Communications Design degree because I was given the opportunity to design merchandise. The most exciting thing about my internship was seeing a T-shirt I designed on a person; it was surreal seeing something I designed and sold out in public.”
Peter Green
Law and Society
Senior
Company: House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security
Internship Title: Intern
Peter’s summer 2017 internship “has given me an invaluable insight into how the federal government functions, as well as how federal law enforcement is supervised and organized. I was able to connect with and speak to staff from many different organizations, which helped me narrow my area of focus in law enforcement. The questions I was able to ask them regarding how to take the next step in my career and how to make myself stand out will help me for the rest of my career. This summer has only fueled my desire to pursue a career in law enforcement, and it has given me the confidence I need to advance with my career. “One highlight of my experience was a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Archives. As a group, we were staring at the most important documents in our nation’s history. We were looking at the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the United States Constitution. The overwhelming sense of history and patriotism made me realize we were part of history during this summer. The bills we had been a part of, including the reauthorization of the Department of Homeland Security, would be forever inscribed in history.”
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