When you celebrate the interns of Campus Greensboro – and all of Guilford County – on National Intern Day, you do it big.
The year’s biggest news for the Campus Greensboro Fellows? The number of interns this summer skyrocketed by 80 percent. A year ago there were 98, says UNCG alumna Mary-Helen Kolousek ’23, the student engagement manager for Action Greensboro. She directs the Campus Greensboro program.
This summer there were 171 Campus Greensboro Fellows. Which university/college had the most fellows? UNC Greensboro – with 27. That’s 16% of the Campus Greensboro Fellows.
Fellows Ashley Oliva, a senior in finance and marketing who plans to graduate in May, and Mykaila Brown ’24, a sociology/WGSS major who graduated in May and is now plunging ahead on her MPA program, help prepare the Campus Greensboro-hosted National Intern Day event at Greensboro’s Piedmont Hall. Nearly 300 employers, mentors, and student interns were there to take stock of all the fellows had learned and had accomplished over the summer.
“Never be afraid to take on the unknown” Brown said, when asked about the key things she learned this summer. “Put yourself out there, engage with strangers, because you never know what connections you can make.”
Oliva noted her internship was in various aspects of marketing. “It can be event planning, social media, website review – I was able to just build up my skills and learn new things. It was really amazing.”
The Campus Greensboro Fellows is a competitive summer program that includes a paid industry internship and opportunities to build the interns’ network, enhance professional development, engage in the community, and explore Greensboro as a place to thrive as a young professional. The fellows gain industry experience through a paid internship, enjoy leadership training, network with business and community leaders throughout our city, and with other Campus Greensboro Fellows. And yes, these internships are paid.
A part of Action Greensboro, its mission is to better prepare local talent for the workforce, motivate students to explore all that the city has to offer outside of their campus communities, and help students discover career options post-graduation. UNCG was a founding member of Campus Greensboro, which kicked off in 2016. “UNCG has been an amazing partner for us,” Kolousek says.
The program partners with dozens of employers in the Greensboro area, she says, from global corporations to nonprofits to start-ups, to provide these opportunities. “It’s a team effort.”
And learning what provides value year after year is part of the teamwork.
“We are getting and using feedback from employers – and from students and mentors,” she explains. More are seeing the value in the program.
Plus, getting involved is simpler than in earlier years, she adds, with a job board that’s increasingly easy to use for employers and for students.
Oliva and Brown encourage undergrads to check it out, to apply. Kolousek has an extra piece of advice for prospective interns? “Campus Greensboro is not just for summer internships – it’s year-round. Check out the job board any time in the year.”
Learn more about UNCG’s internships and professional development at [email protected].
Learn more about Campus Greensboro at campusgreensboro.org.
By Mike Harris ’93 MA, UNCG Magazine
Photography by Sean Norris ’13. Group photo courtesy Campus Greensboro. Videography by David Lee Row.