The Royal Experience Summer Internship Program

This summer I am working in the Office of Safety and Medical Operations at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I have been able to observe the operations of most of the subsections of the department, including patient safety, performance improvement, harm prevention, and emergency preparedness. As I continue to observe and figure out which subsections interest me most, I will have the opportunity to work on projects under mentors from some of these subsections. For example, I am working with an improvement advisor on a project that aims to optimize the scheduling process in every department by creating questionnaires and decision trees to standardize the process. This will give me hands on experience in the creation, management, and completion of improvement work throughout a hospital. Further, my experience here exposes me firsthand to hospital operations and the interconnectedness of the different departments, units, and leaders, and how important it is for them to work together in order to create positive change in the hospital. I am quickly learning that in order to excel in healthcare, I have to be able to think creatively and innovatively in order to find new ways to improve efficiency and deliver the highest quality of patient care. I hope this experience will give me more insight into what specific roles within the healthcare sector interest me most. Further, this internship is helping me to understand which skills, such as leadership and communication, to sharpen in order to be successful in my career.

Sarah Novak
Health Administration

In research and in any job, there can be a lot of administrative work necessary to keep operations running smoothly. As an intern this summer in The University of Scranton’s Biopsychology lab, I will have first-hand experience with the tasks that go on behind the work I do at the lab bench. From writing protocols and keeping animal records up to date to ordering supplies and keeping lab equipment in good condition, much goes on alongside running experimental trials in order to have a successful research lab. As most researchers work independently, even if in a larger lab group or research team, it is important to learn the skills of maintaining proper lab conditions and be self-sufficient. Additionally, I hope to learn new lab techniques including both behavioral protocols and biochemical methods in the Biopsychology lab or in collaboration with other labs at The University of Scranton. This will help me be a versatile candidate for application to Doctorate programs. This internship provides for me the opportunity to research my own project and bring it to fruition from the start with getting the necessary protocols accepted and supplies ordered to the end when all experimental manipulations are accomplished and it comes time to write the manuscript. In this way, I will see whether this process is one I can see myself running and repeating as would happen for a career in research. I hope this summer internship affirms my current aspirations to pursue research in the field of Neuroscience.

Cassie Stapf
Neuroscience and Philosophy

This summer, I will be interning with Melissa Rudas, a self-employed attorney and current Northampton County Solicitor. As an aspiring lawyer, this opportunity to learn from one of the Lehigh Valley’s most successful attorneys has the potential to be one of the most impactful experiences of my young life. The actualization of this potential falls completely on me. Working with such a masterful professional will require constant attention and meticulous work. However, this is something I welcome with open arms and eagerly anticipate. Ultimately, I hope this experience gives me clarity on my intended career path in an increasingly specialized field of work. I am hoping to gain a comprehensive understanding of what it truly takes to be successful in the field of law. This internship will allow me to grow as an entire person and give me the tools necessary to “raise the bar” (pun intended) in every facet of my life as I inch closer and closer to the beginning of my own career.

Andrew Milisits
Philosophy

This past academic year, I made it my mission to find and secure a summer internship with a company that is not only aligned with my field of study, but also my lifestyle. As a passionate and dedicated athlete – primarily with respect to the sports of swimming, biking and running – IRONMAN seemed to be the perfect fit. From this internship, I hope that my athletic background will aid me in becoming a knowledgeable and successful young business professional within the endurance sports industry.

Relocating to Tampa, Florida, for the summer has provided me the opportunity to momentarily experience life after college. Being away from what and who I know has forced me to develop new routines and take on different things that I would have previously left for others. Consequently, my royal experience continues well after I have left the office for the day.

At present, IRONMAN is on the rise. The global triathlon brand is valued at over $650 million and serves as the market leaders for both triathlons (IRONMAN) and running (Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series). Although this is wishful thinking, I hope that my internship turns into a full-time offer a year down the line. If that proves not to be the case, at least IRONMAN has introduced me to a plethora of other business relationships that could led somewhere else. In short, my time with IRONMAN has solidified the fact that I hope to make a career out of something I love – endurance sports.

Thomas McGinley
Marketing

As a finance major, there are many different aspects to the industry that I am eager to learn about. My internship at Cannataro Park Avenue Financial (CPAF) focuses more on insurance and investing, since they are an office associated with Northwestern Mutual. I hope to gain a better understanding of both of these disciplines. Over the past three weeks, I have already started to understand the basics of investing and insurance. I have been introduced to different softwares and applications that are used by CPAF, under Northwestern Mutual, to meet their clients’ needs and financial goals. One of these softwares, known as Morning Star, has different financial capabilities when it comes to creating Investment Policy Statements and comparing indexes for clients’ financial needs. In addition, I have learned the basics of creating Excel spreadsheets for clients with higher valued portfolios that are encouraged to move from a brokerage to an advisory account. I have sat in on three different webinars, including presentations by Collegiate Funding Solutions and “Savvy Women, Smart Investors” by Massachusetts Financial Services (MFS). I hope to learn even more about different softwares and techniques to broaden my understanding and knowledge of the industry. Although it has only been three weeks, I know this internship will continue to be a great learning experience. My internship at CPAF will be the foundation for my career path when I graduate from Scranton. Additionally, the connections I have made so far and will continue to make through the end of my internship, will be available to help and assist me in my future endeavors.

Amanda Spiteri
Finance

Get ready for Summer 2018!  The Center for Career Development is excited to offer the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program for the 3rd year!  If you are considering gaining an internship experience during the summer and it is unpaid, you can apply to receive a stipend to help you gain the valuable experience you need without completely sacrificing income.  Look for information and application materials to become available in March on our Royal Experience webpage.

This past summer 15 students completed the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program in a variety of different disciplines and locations, both internationally and domestically.  Two students completed research with faculty right here on campus.  A Marketing major went to North Carolina to pursue his passion of NASCAR while interning at Speedway Motor Sports.  Another student spent the summer at the U.S. Marshals Service. These are just a few examples of the internships our students had in the Summer of 2017.  All of our Royal Experience recipients had amazing summer experiences!  For more information on who they are and what they did, check out their blogs.

If you have any questions about this program and for more information, please contact Lori Moran in the Center for Career Development at lori.moran@scranton.edu.

For information on how to support this program, please visit www.scranton.edu/makeagift and enter “Royal Experience” as the fund name.

Since I was working with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) the most rewarding part was seeing progress in my SEO efforts. There were many steps in improving the rankings of my website and seeing those efforts come to life was most rewarding. Seeing the rankings and impressions improve was not the fastest, so that would have to be the most challenging. Not knowing how everything you were working on would affect the overall improvement of your site- a waiting game. Eventually, I increased my website’s ranking and increased impressions (the number of times my website was shown in a specific Google search). I tracked this progress through Google Search Console and Google Analytics. Working with real-time data was a huge plus throughout this internship as well. Overall, I learned so much during my time with working on SEO and can take these skills throughout my future career.

Elizabeth Chostowski
Marketing

I find myself truly grateful to have been given this summer internship opportunity as it soon comes to an end. Looking back to my first day, I was extremely nervous about being a part of a professional setting for the first time. Although, going into it, I knew I wouldn’t be responsible for anything other than maintenance of the clinic, I wasn’t quite sure how to properly carry myself. Through the guidance of my supervisor and her staff, I am now equipped with a skill set that will enable me to thrive in my future as a physical therapist. Most physical therapy internships solely involve observation and questions. I, however, was fortunate enough to have been given a little more responsibility as an intern. As I mentioned earlier in the summer, I have conducted a single-patient case study through monitoring the patient’s exercise program and tracking the progression of her knee injury. Being involved in her rehabilitation was the most rewarding part of my internship, even though I played a very small role. I’m not allowed to say much about the patient due to HIPAA regulations, but I am excited to hear about the future steps she takes towards full-recovery! Though the benefits of being an intern have outweighed the hardships, this summer was not a completely smooth sail. The world of physical therapy as it stands is extremely detailed and complex. Thus, trying to learn as much as possible about the field in three short months has been rather difficult. I have taken endless pages of notes and have also researched various related subjects to provide as much depth to my knowledge of physical therapy as possible. At the conclusion of this experience, I am even more excited to become a successful physical therapist! Additionally, I would like to thank the administration of The Royal Experience Summer Internship Program for my acceptance and their attentiveness to the students.

Everett Minchew
Exercise Science