In the future if you’re looking for an internship, an out of state one would be a good choice to provide experience outside of your comfort zone, but you have to worry about housing transportation, and food. That’s where the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL) comes in. Internship coordinator Faye Finnigan spoke on the two ways the CEL can provide help on funding out-of-state internships, because it is imperative that students have internships at all.

For these loans to work, students must be taking the internship for credit and complete an internship application. Afterwards they can be given at least one of two different kinds of loans.

The first loan is the Scholl Grant, which gives out 1000 to 2000 dollars. This grant can be given only one time within four years to a student, but next year Loras plans to be able to give out two grants in four years. The Scholl grant is available for out-of-state national internships.

The other grant is the Adducci Loan, which was provided by Loras alum from 1963 Carl Adducci. He did this because of his father, whom dedicated his success professionally to the education he received from Loras, and wanted to provide opportunities to Loras students.

There are three points about the loan. One, students need internships to get jobs. Two, it was a loan as opposed to a grant because it would help the CEL by having the loan be paid back to help other students, which leads to the third point, students have the responsibility to give back to Loras as a charitable cause. The loan is 500 to 300 dollars, and students have up to three years after graduation. The plus to this, which Adducci wants students to learn, is that it is valuable because it is a no interest loan. The Adducci is available for out-of-state internships nationally and internationally.

Though the May 9^th deadline has already passed, these benefits can used not only for summer internships, but also fall and spring internships. Loras education is valuable, and the CEL and Scholl and Adducci hope students are able to get all the Loras education they can get.

DUBUQUE – Loras Junior Carolyn Zens interned last semester in Chicago and she’s doing it again in Dubuque as the Special Events intern for the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.

There’s a catch to all her hard work, Carolyn says she does not get paid.

“It’s more about gaining the hands on experience. I don’t look at it as getting money after doing so many hours I look at it as having a press release that I have actually worked on,” said Zens.

These skills are important for one to gain for their future careers but with the falling economy the question asked is are internships getting harder to find?

Academic Intern Coordinator, Faye Finnegan claims she doesn’t believe there is necessarily a decline in internships, but there may be a decline in paid internships.

Obtaining the work experience of an internship, whether it’s full-time, part-time, paid, or not, is vital for building a strong resume for any student, especially in these hard economic times.

“How are you as a student going to set yourself apart?” said Finnegan.

This is the question that Finnegan has students, like Zens, thinking about when considering an internship. Finnegan says internships are what prepare students at a professional level.

“It becomes more real for them as well as makes them more marketable when they look for positions following graduation,” said Finnegan.
These are the reasons Zens continues to intern.

“The most important thing to do is to put it on my resume and have the professional experience when I go to find a job,” explained Zens.

To find out more information about internships visit the Center for Experimental Learning on Loras’ campus.

Felicia Carner can be reached at Felicia.Carner@loras.edu