Summer internships pave the way to career success for Rowan students
Summer internships pave the way to career success for Rowan students
July 20, 2009
Ian Dougherty is analyzing data for NASA. Lisa DeGironimo is doing research that can help scientists better understand evolution and global climate change. Brian Yates is roaming West Texas prairies studying the effects of agriculture and cattle ranching on the environment. And, from Italy to USC, four chemistry students are studying everything from hydrogen bonds to the biochemistry of proteins.
For these and dozens of other Rowan University students, summer work isn't about spending long days laboring on the Boardwalk. Instead, for these students, summer means taking advantage of internship opportunities that give them a real advantage in their chosen fields as they work toward their degrees. And they all agree that no matter how you slice-or scoop it-their internships are paying solid dividends.
Here's a look at how some Rowan students are spending their summer internships:
Brian Yates
West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas
Through Aug. 7, Yates, an environmental studies major with minors in biology and Spanish, is conducting eco-toxicology research to determine the effects of pesticide use on the environment.
A native of Long Valley, Yates is working with Dr. William Rogers, an environmental risk assessor. His research involves examining the effect of atrazine, the most common pesticide that stops plant growth, on golden algae blooms. Yates spends his days in the lab and out on the prairies, where he has dodged deer and rattlesnakes.
"I'm studying the natural history of this area and what the ecosystems were like prior to settlement," he says. "Recently, I was water sampling knee-deep in mud. I really enjoyed it. I love the outdoors. Most of my work involves looking into a microscope and assessing biodiversity and relative abundance of phytoplankton."
The 10-week paid internship is one in a long string of career-building moves Yates has undertaken. In fall of 2006, he studied abroad in Spain. The following summer, he held an internship with the Environmental Protection Agency. And this fall, he's heading to Brazil to study the rainforest and other tropical biomes through Antioch University.
Michael Muldowney
Vineland Municipal Electric Utility
A senior mechanical engineering major from Stockton, Hunterdon County, Muldowney received four-count ‘em-four internship offers. He accepted a position at Vineland, where he's helping the engineering staff design an extension to their power plant.
"I've had the opportunity to learn the existing plant and to work on the installation of a new natural gas turbine. It's a tight-knit group of engineers here and they've permitted me access to the entire plant. I get to see first-hand how power generation works," says Muldowney, whose interest in steam piqued when he began working on the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad as a teenager.
Muldowney credits his aggressive use of services provided by Rowan's Career and Academic Planning Center in helping him land the internship-and the other offers.
"Much of my pursuit was done through personal contacts I have established at career fairs, on-campus industry presentations, and through a former co-worker," Muldowney says. "The CAP Center properly prepared me through more than one resume critique and also a very helpful mock interview."
In a 12-week REU outside of Annapolis, Md., Savastano is part of a research project that examines how prey density affects the reproductive patterns of comb jellies. Comb jellies are predators of oyster larvae and jellyfish. The rising senior biological science major from Hillsborough also designed her own experiment looking at how predation damage affects comb jellies' reproductive success.
"I'm lucky to have a mixture of work in the lab and in the field," says Savastano, a student in Rowan's Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration program.
"I spend time looking through a microscope and boating out on the Chesapeake Bay to collect water samples and organisms. It's great to have an internship that is both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable."
For these and dozens of other Rowan University students, summer work isn't about spending long days laboring on the Boardwalk. Instead, for these students, summer means taking advantage of internship opportunities that give them a real advantage in their chosen fields as they work toward their degrees. And they all agree that no matter how you slice-or scoop it-their internships are paying solid dividends.
Here's a look at how some Rowan students are spending their summer internships:
Brian Yates
West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas
Through Aug. 7, Yates, an environmental studies major with minors in biology and Spanish, is conducting eco-toxicology research to determine the effects of pesticide use on the environment.
A native of Long Valley, Yates is working with Dr. William Rogers, an environmental risk assessor. His research involves examining the effect of atrazine, the most common pesticide that stops plant growth, on golden algae blooms. Yates spends his days in the lab and out on the prairies, where he has dodged deer and rattlesnakes.
"I'm studying the natural history of this area and what the ecosystems were like prior to settlement," he says. "Recently, I was water sampling knee-deep in mud. I really enjoyed it. I love the outdoors. Most of my work involves looking into a microscope and assessing biodiversity and relative abundance of phytoplankton."
The 10-week paid internship is one in a long string of career-building moves Yates has undertaken. In fall of 2006, he studied abroad in Spain. The following summer, he held an internship with the Environmental Protection Agency. And this fall, he's heading to Brazil to study the rainforest and other tropical biomes through Antioch University.
Michael Muldowney
Vineland Municipal Electric Utility
A senior mechanical engineering major from Stockton, Hunterdon County, Muldowney received four-count ‘em-four internship offers. He accepted a position at Vineland, where he's helping the engineering staff design an extension to their power plant.
"I've had the opportunity to learn the existing plant and to work on the installation of a new natural gas turbine. It's a tight-knit group of engineers here and they've permitted me access to the entire plant. I get to see first-hand how power generation works," says Muldowney, whose interest in steam piqued when he began working on the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad as a teenager.
Muldowney credits his aggressive use of services provided by Rowan's Career and Academic Planning Center in helping him land the internship-and the other offers.
"Much of my pursuit was done through personal contacts I have established at career fairs, on-campus industry presentations, and through a former co-worker," Muldowney says. "The CAP Center properly prepared me through more than one resume critique and also a very helpful mock interview."
Kelly Savastano
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD
In a 12-week REU outside of Annapolis, Md., Savastano is part of a research project that examines how prey density affects the reproductive patterns of comb jellies. Comb jellies are predators of oyster larvae and jellyfish. The rising senior biological science major from Hillsborough also designed her own experiment looking at how predation damage affects comb jellies' reproductive success.
"I'm lucky to have a mixture of work in the lab and in the field," says Savastano, a student in Rowan's Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration program.
"I spend time looking through a microscope and boating out on the Chesapeake Bay to collect water samples and organisms. It's great to have an internship that is both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable."