December 2003

Internships help students explore career choices

Sooner or later, it comes down to this: What do I want to be when I grow up?

The college years are the best time to explore this lofty question, and the UC Davis Internship and Career Center can help with a wide range of opportunities.

"UC Davis has the largest and most comprehensive internship program in the UC system, there's no doubt about it," says Linda Hughes, program manager of the ICC.

According to Hughes, the center places about 6,000 students in internships each year. In fact, about 70 percent of UC Davis students take part in at least one internship while at Davis, including part-time internships during the quarter and full-time ones in the summer months.

A wide range of opportunities

ICC provides both internship and career advising services for all majors in one center. The center has advisers who can help students find internships in the areas of agriculture and the environment, business, community and public service, education, engineering, law and politics, medicine and science.

The ICC also has a UC Davis Washington Center, which allows students to spend a quarter as an intern in the nation's capital.

There are both volunteer and paid internship opportunities. Hughes recommends that internships for freshmen and sophomores be more exploratory in nature, while upper-level students focus on career-building experiences.

And with internships available at well-known organizations -- like Genentech, Hewlett-Packard, the UC Davis Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health -- as well as with elected representatives and law enforcement agencies, there are many opportunities for gaining solid experience that can pay off in the future.

Serving and sampling career choices

	UC Davis intern Jennifer Burbank steadies Kelli Antony of Fairfield on her mount, Polo, at the Horseplay Therapeutic Riding Center near Dixon. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

For Jennifer Burbank, a fourth-year English major from the East Bay, an internship at Horseplay Therapeutic Riding Center is a new way to combine two things she really enjoys. "I thought it was an interesting way to work with disabled children and put that together with my love of animals," she says.

Horseplay, located in nearby Dixon, is a riding program for disabled children. Burbank volunteers there two Saturdays a month, walking alongside a horse while the children ride. She also leads the children in games that develop their mental and social skills.

"It's just so rewarding to see these kids and the look on their face after they have fun and socialize," says Burbank, who is also an intern with the animal advocacy organization United Animal Nations.

"I'm not at the point where I know exactly what I want to do," she says. "I'm using these internships to see what is out there."

	UC Davis student Michael Scott is doing accounting during his internship with Habitat for Humanity in Sacramento. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis)

Like Burbank, Michael Scott, an intern at Habitat for Humanity's Sacramento office, was also drawn to the idea of helping people. "Serving people is something that's just been placed in my heart. It's always appealed to me," the senior from Orange County says.

Scott is an animal science and management major. At Habitat for Humanity, he is charged with accounting responsibilities and making deposits that come into the non-profit organization.

Scott may join the Peace Corps after graduation. He has been considering the possibility for a while now, but he says his experience at Habitat for Humanity has further solidified the idea.

The Internship and Career Center is on the second and third floors of South Hall and is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information about the center's services is available on its Web site.

Top of page

Return to previous page