This story appeared in the 2024 Spring/Summer issue of Onyx Anneau.
By Elizabeth Reel ’21, content marketing manager
For nearly two centuries, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) has continued to inspire students to engage and embrace realistic, experiential learning. From completing hands-on projects to conducting research for non-profit organizations, studies, and causes, Woods students have made an impact on several fields of study.
One significant way that Woods students are gaining real-world experience is through internships. In the early 2000s, SMWC received a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish a Career Center. Since then, students have been mentored and received support through résumé and cover letter reviews, honing of interview skills and assistance in job searches. In spring 2024, SMWC partnered with Ascend Indiana to connect more students to good and promising career opportunities in Indiana. Through the Ascend Network, the initiative’s online job matching platform, SMWC students can connect with Indiana jobs and internships that match their skill sets and interests and receive increased one-on-one career guidance and job search support. In addition, this partnership provides Indiana’s leading employers with a unique platform for hiring SMWC students.
“Ascend has been a great addition to the College. Not only are they taking time to meet with students to assist in their professional searches, but they’re showing them what Indiana has to offer to keep their learning experience through internships or their first job out of college within the Hoosier lines. With such an extensive network available, it elevates the College’s ability to provide connections to students and graduates for internships and job opportunities,” said Martha Reed, director of the career center.
In addition to the components of helping students build skills in professionalism, Reed shared that it’s all about setting students up for success at The Woods and after graduation. “Students don’t always realize that they need real-world experience, but then they discover that they’ve taken knowledge gained in the classroom and turned it into hands-on learning. Once in a great while, a student will do an internship and realize that their original field of interest isn’t for them – that’s where we come in, more to guide them as they find their vocation,” Reed said. Reed also explained that it’s her own mission to make sure students start their internship search early.
As Reed has been a part of several student success stories, she shared that Bailey Thompson Long ’24, from Crawfordsville, Indiana, was a perfect example of how an internship can benefit a Woods student. During the summer between Long’s junior and senior year at The Woods, she completed an internship as a marketing intern with WalkerHughes Insurance. During her internship experience, Bailey shared, “I wanted to do an internship to gain more experience in the marketing field and work on a team with others. I loved my time at WalkerHughes as an intern and met the best people in the process.” Projects for Long included completing a social media audit, creating content in InDesign and making a content calendar for the company. Her work as an intern paid off as she was offered a full-time position upon graduating from The Woods. Bailey now serves as social media coordinator at WalkerHughes Insurance.
For the summer of 2024, there are several students completing internships. “In the end, the journey begins by helping students believe in who they are and their capabilities. Many times, students don’t understand that they already have it in them, but they’ll tell me how much we helped them succeed. Then, I’ll remind them that I only helped them find what was already within them, and that’s why we do what we do here,” Reed concluded.
A proud alum of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Elizabeth “Izzy” Reel ’21 started her career in higher education in February 2022. Reel graduated from SMWC in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in professional writing and completed a marketing minor. She was humbled and honored to receive the Undergraduate Alumni Leadership and Service Award in 2021. In addition to her love for The Woods, she enjoys being involved in the community, coaches high school soccer and loves spending time with family and friends.
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