The Royal Experience Summer Internship Program

Every day that I pack and prepare for my internship, I feel more excited for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! For the next several weeks, I will have the most amazing experience of interning at Island Dolphin Care (IDC), in Key Largo, Florida, a not-for-profit organization. They specialize in dolphin assisted therapy for children and adults with disabilities as well as for veterans of the United States military. I am so grateful to be able to complete this therapy internship with the aid of the Royal Experience Program.

I am thrilled to apply the skills and knowledge I have acquired in my occupational therapy classes, as well as obtain new skills as I work side by side with the therapists at IDC. As anyone would be, I am also looking forward to understanding unique aspect of this therapy, the inclusion of dolphins. Dolphins are some of the smartest animals on the planet, and I am lucky to be able to see how they interact with and help the clients of IDC.

I hope to use this incredible internship to not only pursue my future career in occupational therapy, but to grow as a person. At The University of Scranton, a Jesuit institution, I have been introduced to the value of “cura personalis,” or the care for the entire person. I believe that this internship will allow me to share this value with the staff and clients with whom I will interact and apply it to my future practice as an occupational therapist. I am truly excited to begin my Royal Experience internship and represent The University of Scranton in Key Largo this summer!

Claire Jarvis
Occupational Therapy

The beginning of my summer has been busy with receiving valuable working experience through my curatorial internship at the Everhart Museum.  I have already gained various skills by working here the past three weeks; however, I am looking forward to learning even more as my internship progresses and I continue to complete more projects.  This experience has helped me understand the role of a curator in not just handling the museum’s exhibitions, but also administering important responsibilities such as budgeting and marketing.  My internship allows me to handle the museum’s artifacts and directly contribute to their conservation and repatriation to indigenous peoples under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The research I have conducted on various sacred Native American artifacts has helped me understand a museum’s legal procedures while also gaining knowledge about native tribes and their culture.  As I continue to work at the Everhart, I hope to be involved in the process of curating an exhibit that relates back to the research I have conducted so far.  The knowledge I have gained will impact my future career as a curator because I have an appreciation for the extensive research that goes into conserving and displaying artifacts in an educational, yet respectful way.

Abbey Donaldson
History

Summer 2019 is just around the corner! The Center for Career Development is preparing for the 4th year of the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program. 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 9 students completed the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program in a variety of different disciplines and locations. Students across all three colleges and from a variety of different majors participated in the program while gaining valuable experiences in their fields — from the sciences, to business, to the social sciences and humanities. Three students completed research with faculty right here on campus while other students completed internships in different locations across the country. 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.

Well, 8 weeks flew by. Summers always do move at a rapid pace, but this particular summer seemed to move even faster. My time at the Everhart Museum in Scranton, PA, left a lasting impression in my heart and opened up new worlds that I could explore with the degree I am working toward. As an “art major”, I have been learning to hone my painting and drawing skills by some very fine artists\teachers in our area, and while at the Museum, I was able to put some of that knowledge to work. The highlight of my 8 weeks there, however, was when I was asked to help with condition reporting on the Museum’s textile collection. Since I was about 10, I have been spinning wool and knitting\weaving garments, so this was a big day for me. I quickly agreed to help, and off we went. My favorite piece was a Civil War-era cotillion dress, which was handmade (most clothing was back then). I got an up close and personal look at hand-stitching and hand-made lacework, and I could just imagine the young woman who would have worn the dress to her summer dance in the south. Not only was I able to put my art background to use, but I made lasting connections at the Museum, and I cannot wait to visit with my friends there again. It was bitter-sweet to leave, but I will always hold the memories in a special place in my heart.

Jordan Oakey
Liberal Studies with concentrations in Studio Art, Art History, and Education Theory

Over the past 10-weeks at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I have had the opportunity to grow both individually and professionally. I am very grateful to have interned at one of the most prestigious Children’s Hospitals around the world. I was able to participate in projects in a wide array of sub-units within the Office of Safety and Medical Operations, including Performance Improvement, Patient Safety, Behavioral Health, and Emergency Preparedness. For example, I gained hands on experience with work flow process mapping for a behavioral health intake project, as well as the planning and development of an active shooter plan.

Overall, the most rewarding part of the internship was connecting with many different individuals throughout the hospital. Between meetings, rounding, and projects, I got to meet a diverse range of people, from doctors and performance advisors to the Chief Operating Officer of CHOP. Connecting with all of these individuals allowed me to work on projects that reached many different corners of the hospital, as well as receive valuable professional advice about my future career in health care. One of the most challenging parts of this internship was identifying CHOP’s culture and communication style. Every organization has a different culture, and trying to understand it and integrate it into my own work style was a challenge. However, the ability to recognize and work within different professional cultures is a valuable skill that will serve me well in my future.

Overall, this internship at CHOP was one of the best opportunities of my life thus far. Being exposed to so many different aspects of hospital operations and healthcare administration helped to give more direction to my career path and goals. This internship has solidified my interest in health care and I am so excited for the future of my career in the field!

Sarah Novak
Health Administration

Throughout my time interning for the Sussex County Miners, I have been exposed to the intricacies of what it takes to operate a successful baseball team, which has opened my eyes to the reality that the baseball industry is as grueling as it is entertaining.

That being said, my internship has undoubtedly been sprinkled with challenges, some expected and many not, but none that I was not able to overcome. The toughest of these challenges was adapting to the fast-paced, “never-sleeping” environment that is professional baseball. Schedules are planned months in advance, and once a game begins, there is very little—even torrential downpours in some cases—that will stop it, causing everyone to work at full speed during all hours. As challenging as this may have been, I found it to be equally thrilling, as it pushed me to my limits and allowed me to see what I was capable of. I guess the 6 a.m. tarp pulls to cover the field from rain weren’t too much fun either though!

Although challenges appeared occasionally, my experience has most definitely been more rewarding than challenging. The most rewarding aspect of interning with The Miners would be the fact that I was truly shown and able to learn about all the different aspects that go in to running a baseball organization. From working the box office, to making group sales, to booking vendors, to working with the media and broadcasting managers to shadowing the General Manager, so much knowledge was shared with me, and I found that you will learn even more if you have genuine conversations with the people doing these jobs. I think it’s safe to say that my internship has helped prepare me for whatever is to come in my future, and for that I will always be grateful!

Jillian Wall
Strategic Communication

One major challenge that I’ve found in the course of this internship is that research can be somewhat discouraging. The decimation in the bat population demographics in the Northeastern United States since the White-Nose outbreak in 2006 has been well documented; however, it is different to know this information theoretically than to physically go out in search of bats and come up empty. I think bats are fascinating animals, as well as an essential part of forest ecosystems, so it can be frustrating to do population research and see the depth of the problem firsthand without having any means to help fix the issue. That being said, the experience I’ve gained over the course of the past several weeks has been rewarding overall. Even though there is no instant gratification or breakthrough associated with this type of population study, it is comforting to know that the data that we collect can help other researchers understand the bat population dilemma in great detail and hopefully take a step closer in finding the solution. We are hoping that our data will be published locally as part of an ongoing study of Northeastern bats post-2006 and that the combined data collected by researchers across the United States may help stop the spread of White-Nose Syndrome.

Tate Ackerman
Biology, Spanish, Philosophy

My Royal Psychology Experience at McLean Hospital has been remarkably rewarding and surprisingly challenging. This summer, I drafted my book chapter on mindfulness in schools, observed clinical interventions, and been trained to administer two clinical assessments. While I enjoy honing my research skills, the most rewarding part of my experience has been forging relationships with staff. Each staff member has shared his or her experience with and advice on graduate programs and career opportunities. The treatment team’s transparency and approachability has made them a valuable future resource.

Though rewarding, my tenure at McLean has been challenging. We only have four patients and are currently training new staff members. Staff observe interventions before delivering them independently, and because some patients are uncomfortable with multiple observers, I have fewer observation opportunities currently. My inability to participate in treatments has proven more challenging than restricted observation access, however. As a research assistant, I am forbidden from delivering clinical interventions to patients, but I often find myself wanting to participate in treatment administration. In the future, I will seek opportunities that provide hands-on experience with similar techniques.

Overall, my work on the unit has enriched my understanding of OCD and the disorder’s impact on clients. Following my Royal Psychology Experience, I am more confident in my decision to pursue a career in mental health and more aware of the various opportunities available in my field.

Bobby McGowan
Philosophy & Psychology