Career and Professional Development

K-Internships:
Connecting Kalamazoo College Alumni and Students in Summer Professional Development Opportunities

In response to feedback from alumni sponsors, the Center for Career and Professional Development has established an additional model for summer professional development opportunities linking current students with K alumni and friends of the College.  In the summer of 2009, the CCPD piloted a “K-Internship” program, supporting nine student/alumni internships.  As with the Discovery Externship Program, the feedback from both students and sponsors was overwhelmingly positive, and the K-Internship program entered its second year in the summer of 2010. 

Selected students receive from the CCPD a stipend of $1500 each when they work in an alumni-sponsored internship for at least six weeks this summer, for at least 32 hours per week, for a minimum of 198 hours total.   The $1500 stipend helps with expenses incurred by the student over the course of the summer internship.

Sponsors are free to host a student intern over any six-week period that works best for both parties between the established dates of the summer; we ask that sponsors explicitly discuss the time frame with students during the interview and at the time a selected student accepts the position.  We expect that a sponsor will regularly discuss with the intern the progress of work together during the internship, and that a sponsor will provide written feedback at the end of the internship.  We expect that a student intern will fulfill the following requirements, which are the requirements for the Field Experience Program currently administered by the CCPD:

• Completion of a Learning Contract with the internship supervisor in order to mutually establish goals for skill development, learning, and contribution to the organization during the internship
• Submission of Weekly Reflections throughout the internship
• Completion of Reflective Assignment at the conclusion of the internship

Based on past success, the CCPD is excited to continue this model of matching alumni hosts with student interns.  We look forward to working with alumni sponsors to make this internship program a meaningful learning experience and network-building opportunity for all involved.

For more information, please contact CCPD director Joan Hawxhurst at joan.hawxhurst@kzoo.edu or 269-337-7183.