Students prepare for summer internships

As the summer of 2024 approaches, Bennies and Johnnies prepare to begin internships that will guide them into their future endeavors.

Having an internship is unique for every student at CSB+SJU. With 37 majors and 40 minor programs, internships in each field of study are possible.

An internship is a temporary position at a company or organization where an individual works to gain practical experience in a specific field.

Interns are given the opportunity to learn and contribute to real-world projects, gaining insight and skills often applicable to their future line of work.

Students at CSB+SJU connect with faculty, XPD, nonprofits, alumni and clubs on campus to find internships throughout the world.

Past Interns

SJU senior Joe McMahon studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland, during the summer of 2023.

During the eight-week period in Ireland, McMahon worked as an intern with a recruitment firm, interacting with clients looking for a wide variety of jobs.

“You gain valuable experience in the real world,” McMahon said. “It’s usually a pretty short commitment that you can see how you feel about certain job areas and figure out if it’s right for you or not.”

McMahon is preparing to serve as part of the Benedictine Volunteer Corps for the next year and, following his time abroad, hopes to join marketing or sales thanks to his positive experience as an intern in Dublin.

During the last two years, CSB senior Claire Fredrickson worked as an intern with Bennie alumna Bridget Deutz at Greenline Marketing in Sartell, Minn., whose mission is to publish educational content for digital marketers.

While interning, Fredrickson has helped write nearly 100 blogs and managed social media for the business while developing a passion for content-creation and marketing.

While studying abroad in Greece, Fredrickson was given the opportunity to continue working as an intern.

“I don’t think that there’s a better way to immerse yourself than into the actual work,” Fredrickson said. “The best part about the internship is every week I have a new rabbit hole that I dive into some random topic.”

Fredrickson said that her internship has set her up to pursue a future in marketing. Next fall, Fredrickson will be working at Granite Logistics in Sartell, Minn.

CSB senior Ella Madson worked as a nursing intern at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis during the summer of 2023.

Unlike some other majors, such as Global Business Leadership, nursing students at CSB+SJU are not required to work as interns but are encouraged to do so to discern which nursing pathway they would like to pursue.

As an intern, Madson worked in the pediatric unit, helping young children with a wide range of cases. Madson shared that her hands-on learning as an intern was the most realistic reflection of what her future as a nurse would be like.

“I would encourage all nursing majors to get internships,” Madson said. “The fact that you go to St. Ben’s and St. John’s is huge in the internship world, and businesses are always excited to hear that you are a Bennie or a Johnnie.”

Madson will graduate as a registered nurse in May and shared her hope to work at Children’s Hospital, just as she did during her internship.

Future Interns

Numerous Bennies and Johnnies have secured internships for the close and approaching summer of 2024.

CSB junior Ella Martin has accepted an internship position with Essentia Health, made possible by funding from CSB+SJU’s Summer Leadership Fellows.

The Summer Leadership Fellows provides opportunities for numerous Bennies and Johnnies to engage in 10-week summer internships positions throughout the world. Each student selected receives $7,000 for the summer, allowing them to engage with a wide variety of businesses they may not be otherwise able to.

With Essentia Health in Duluth, Martin will work at the hospital as part of the genetic counseling and maternal family health team. Martin hopes to shadow a multitude of areas in the hospital to help her decide her future career.

As a biology major at CSB+SJU, Martin hopes to work in genetic counseling but expressed her excitement for this opportunity to immerse herself in the field.

“It is important to have the chance to create connections with people that are already in a field and also figure out if you don’t want to do something, like if you don’t want to be at a desk for eight hours a day,” Martin said. “There’s not really a better way to figure that out than through an internship, and I think it’s really special to provide students with the opportunity to do that.”

CSB junior Em Oswald looks forward to an upcoming internship position at St. David’s in Minnetonka, Minn.

As a rehabilitation support staff, Oswald will work with three patients a day with care ranging from physical therapy to occupational therapy and to rehabilitation services.

Oswald hopes to be an occupational therapist in the future and shared her excitement to work within the field for the summer.

Similar to Martin, Oswald’s internship position has been made possible through the funding of a nonprofit organization. Oswald closely communicated with alumni who led her to securing the position.

“I was looking for a way to get in the door with occupational therapy because a lot of the internship programs that people offer, and otherwise you can’t really experience the field until you’re actually in grad school,” Oswald said. “So, I reached out to some alum connections through St. Ben’s, and they provided me with this opportunity to work at the center.”

CSB sophomore and accounting major Rachel Lawrence will be working as an intern at an accounting firm this summer.

Knowing that she wanted to do an internship early on, Lawrence applied to a multitude of internships early on in the year. While students are often hired after their junior year of college, Lawrence was hired after her sophomore year.

With Clifton Larson Allen, Lawrence will work in their financial services sector as an intern.

“I hope to be a CPA [certified public accountant] in the future, and if this internship goes well, I’m hoping to intern there again next summer and then hopefully get hired on fulltime after college,” Lawrence said. “Accounting has really nice pipelines from internships to jobs, so it’ll be really useful to see if this is what I want to be doing and if I like the company and this line of work.”