“How do I look for research and internship positions? I know the CCPD exists, but how do you get started?”
Thank you so much for asking! We all know that Centre has a wondrous array of resources for us to take advantage of, but how do we actually go about using these resources effectively? Not to mention the near overwhelming number of acronyms it feels like are constantly being created… There are a few good places to start engagement in the area of internship and career planning, the first is to sign up for a career exploration community, or CEC. You can do this from your homepage on Centrenet, just click that green arrow to indicate interest. This will start sending you emails about job and internship opportunities in your area of interest. These opportunities, and the ones advertised in Cowan via banners, are probably one of the best ways to express interest and find out about the connections we have for a specific job.
If you are looking for more general internship advice I would recommend looking through the CCPD’s new, well designed, website found at careers.centre.edu/channels/student/. This website has links for you to schedule a meeting with a career peer mentor, a fellow student who can help you find opportunities, revise your resume or cover letter, and prepare you for those stressful interviews. They also have scheduling links for career coaches, people who have experience in the field of guiding people towards job opportunities, these career coaches also have spreadsheets full of alumni contact information for potential internship opportunities in whatever field you might be looking into. The website also just straight up has a list of job and internship opportunities that you could consider applying to under guidance from a peer mentor or career coach.
That might help you find an internship, but what about research experience? Research access is dependent on your field of study, the first step for getting research opportunities will always be to ask your professors. If you know that one of your professors specializes in the field you want to try out for research, schedule a meeting with them and ask them about what research opportunities might exist! They want to help you! If you do not have a class with a professor in your area of interest, look up the course catalog and email a professor who does have experience in the field, or, barring that, has experience in a related field. Ask them questions or just schedule an in-person appointment to discuss these opportunities! I know no professor who will impede a student trying to learn more about their area of interest, most professors want you to study their subject!
I hope that helped! If you still have questions do not hesitate to contact either your academic advisor regarding resources, email the CCPD regarding areas to look at, or just ask someone! The worst that happens is they redirect you to someone else and you have a new lead for this investigation. Another, final, tip before I go back to my sedentary and statuesque existence is to be persistent with your emails. If someone does not respond within one to two days send a follow up email, your first email was probably just lost in the noise. Also be sure to send emails during normal working hours, or at least scheduling them to send then, that avoids your email being accidentally ignored during the morning clearing of emails and can help with response time. Don’t be like me, a statue, if you don’t advocate for yourself and ask people for opportunities you will miss out on them. You cannot be a passive actor in your own life, so reach out there and email some professors.
“What happens if I take a video of myself stepping on the seal multiple times?”
There is only one way to know!
“What skincare products do you use? You’re like 200 years old and don’t look a day over 40.”
I find that a mixture of copper, rain, and the occasional hose-down can do wonders for the complexion.