Too often summer internships for college students consist of filing papers and coffee runs. The North Carolina State Government Internship Program tries to remedy this problem by offering students summer jobs that give exposure to public service fields and career opportunities.

On May 24^th, 64 North Carolina college, graduate, and law students began summer internships working in state agencies across the state in diverse fields ranging from art to business to law. Fourteen of those students come from N.C. State University.

John Smith, the internship program coordinator and doctoral student at the University, said the program has been in existence for 40 years.

“This program really serves three populations: the interns themselves, the state agencies and the people of North Carolina,” Smith said. “The interns gain experience and earn some summer pay, and the agencies receive smart, energetic young people to work with. “

Smith said a lot of the positions are service-oriented, so the students’ work often benefits the people of North Carolina.

Although there have been as many as 125 interns in the past, state budget cuts from the economic recession cut the amount of internships the state was able to offer this year. In addition, the number of applications grew to over 900 from around 700 in the past, according to Smith.

“The selection process was highly competitive but very fair,” Smith said. “The applicants rank the top internships they would like to work with, and the state agencies rank the top students they would like to work with. We hope to be able to pair students with their top choices.”

The students work from May 24^th through July 30^th and receive $8.25 an hour for their work.

For Chelsea Amato, an internship in recycling graphics was the perfect fit for her personal interests and career aspirations. Amato, a junior in graphic design, wants to gain experience related to her major but also has a strong commitment to the environment.

“Through my graphic design career, I hope to promote awareness of environmental issues and serve my community,” Amato said. “This internship comprises all of my interests and will help me decide if this is something I want to do in the future.”

Amato’s summer internship consists of two main projects. First, she is working on a campaign for the teenage demographic helping to revamp the website, Re3.org. She is also creating a campaign for the 35 to 55 demographic, which centers on the website recyclemorenc.org.

“In addition to designing web pages, I work with print sources, such as designing posters that help people find ways to recycle on the go,” Amato said.

State government was not a subject Amato knew much about before her internship, but she said she has learned a lot about how government works.

“In Raleigh we have a lot of resources, but in other cities the governments can’t even afford computers,” Amato said. “My department works a lot with local governments helping them find resources to implement programs such as the ones we have in Raleigh.”

Another experience that was new to Amato was working a 9-to-5-office job.

“I’m learning what its like to work in front of a computer instead of a design studio,” Amato said. “It’s not as intense as school work but you have to be more self-motivated.”

Deanna Tesch works part-time at a developmental disabilities clinic in Raleigh, helping people with a range of disabilities learn how to read and write, exercise, and do math, among other important skills. That experience, combined with her knowledge of chemistry, has made her current internship a success so far.

Tesch is working at the Black Mountain Neuromedical Treatment Center helping patients with developmental disabilities and performing pharmacological assessments.

“The first week, I was able to choose four patients to work with and spend time with,” Tesch said. “In addition to observing them, I look at their past medical histories and think about the ways the drugs they have taken and may take will affect them.”

In only two weeks, this internship has made Tesch realize what she wants to do in the future.

“I know that I want to do research now, so I want to go to graduate school and specialize in medicinal chemistry,” Tesch said. “The chemistry of the brain is fascinating to me, and I would love to understand the brain and how drugs affect the brain and maybe even work on drugs in a lab.”

Tesch said she was surprised by how nice the facilities are and the quality of treatment the patients receive.

“Everyone really cares about the patients and are really nice and friendly,” Tesch said. “I have a lot of independence but everyone is here to help if I need it.”

Some of the state government internships actually do pertain to, well, government! Anuja Acharya, a sophomore in political science, has a legislative internship with the Administrative Office of the Courts of Raleigh this summer.

“Prior to the internship, I knew a lot about the executive branch of government, but I didn’t know as much about the legislative and judicial branches,” Acharya said. “This internship gives me the unique opportunity to see how legislation can affect the work of the courts.”

Acharya is working to make an electronic legislative bill tracking system, so officials and the public can see what stage of the legislative process a bill is in. She is also learning a lot about the judicial and legislative systems.

“I can already tell that this internship is about learning as opposed to doing busy work,” Acharya said. “I love the people I work with and I have my own office already.”

One surprise Acharya said she received was seeing how much work goes into government decision-making.

“I’ve always heard that government was wasteful and inefficient,” Acharya said. “But right now they are working on the budget and a lot of good programs have to be cut because of money. A lot of government comes down to making tough decisions that somebody has to make.”

Eberle, who had done some landscaping in undergraduate school, said she really enjoyed the design aspect of it and decided the internship with the Department of Commerce seemed like a good fit.

“I’m helping out with their community assistance program and I’m helping design rural communities in the western part of the state. Right now I’m focusing on two towns Hayesville and Crossnore,” Eberle said.

Currently working in Hayesville, Eberle said she is currently focusing on the county courthouse.

“We’re going to start looking at the landscape on the outside. They want to build a trail that goes from a local history museum,” which Eberle said has a lot of Cherokee stuff in it, “through town to their school and eventually out to an archaeological site.”

The internship is a partnership with the state and a nonprofit called Handmade in America, according to Eberle.

“They’re working together to give general planning assistance to rural communities and help provide funding through grants,” Eberle said.

Although she hasn’t gone out to Crossnore yet, Eberle said she’ll be doing something similar to what she is doing in Hayesville.

“[They’re] building a trail to connect outer parts of the town. A lot of what I’m doing is providing them plans they can use to get grants and federal funding,” Eberle said.

Sarah McKone of Cary, graduate student in technical communications
Displaced Homemaker Manual with the Department of Administration in Raleigh

As a technical communications student, McKone said one of the biggest focuses is writing documentation that is either to learn how to do something or use something.

“The council that I’m with is the North Carolina Council for Women. Specifically I’m working with the Displaced Homemaker’s Program, one of the many programs the Council for Women does,” McKone said. “The Displaced Homemaker’s Program deals with individuals who have relied on income from another source, whether it’s from a spouse, a significant other, parents. Something has gone array, whether a divorce, death, separation, abandonment.”

The men or women the program deals with need to find additional employment, but because most have been homemakers and providing energy within the home, such as childcare or housekeeping, where they’re unpaid, McKone said they don’t have the employment experience or the vocation experience to get high wage positions that can support them or their family.

“The Displaced Homemaker’s Program works with those people to provide job training and other services to help them achieve economic sustainability. My position is to work on a best practices manual through the Displaced Homemaker’s Program,” McKone said. “There’s 35 of them across the state and they all have unique services but they also all have to apply to the same guidelines. I unite those practices into one comprehensive document. I also outline best practice strategies for those programs so they can continue to be successful within those communities.”

McKone said she found out about the program through the N.C. State Career Center.

“The cool thing about [the internship] is while I’m in my program I write a manual for how to use this technology or how to use this software, when at the internship this summer I’m learning more on how to help people,” McKone said. “It’s going to go to 35 different programs across the state to help people every single day. If they use it and it makes the programs better then it’s going to be the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”