According to Tina Stack-Oldweiler, manager of employer relations in the Career Center, this is the fifth year the office is offering the catalog, UCan, for students to browse internship listings, both paid and unpaid. Presently, 22 schools, such as Princeton, Duke and Harvard, collaborate and post internship options.
It gives students access to opportunities from all over the country,” said Stack-Oldweiler. “It’s for the summer and beyond. Sometimes we have students who can get year-long internships.”
Currently, there are approximately 420 national internship opportunities posted.
“This is an incredibly effective program,” said Stack-Oldweiler. “Not all students are from Colorado and this helps students from out-of-town get internships.”
In addition, the Career Center can assist students who find an unpaid internship in applying for a stipend. Currently, DU is offering eight $2,500 stipends for these students.
“DU has such a great reputation,” Stack-Oldweiler said. “Our students are consistently rated among the highest with regard to schools that employers seek. Employers say our students are better-prepared and more professional than students from other schools.”
The Office of Student Employment also provides a summer job board with over 100 listings in Colorado, said Marlena Hartz, job location and development coordinator for the Office of Student Employment. The online job board has been available since 2008.
According to Hartz, most of the posted jobs are part-time, and many of them are located off-campus and include positions in all types of industries, including recreational staff and administrative positions.
The Office of Student Employment prescreens all positions and assures that the pay is no less than $10 per hour.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to get experience in a field of interest,” said Hartz. “It also helps [them] fund their education and pay for things like books.”
When students see a position they like, they can click on it and follow the instructions to apply.
Some employers have students complete online applications, while others request that students send a printed résumé.
“We’ve gotten a lot of employer interest this year,” said Hartz. “It’s indicative of the economy getting better.”
Hartz said that she thinks the jobs will help students connect with the DU community off-campus because students can find part-time work that may turn into a full-time career, as well as network with employers.
One such job listing is a part-time position for a Strengthening Families Program Coordinator at the Denver Office of Drug Strategy. It is an administrative position where the student would work to help prevent teen substance abuse by traveling to schools and organizations in the Denver Metro area. Pay is $15 per hour and some of the work can also be done from home.
Last year, the Office of Student Employment became a member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, according to Hartz.
“It’s the largest network for employers,” said Hartz. “It allows us to connect with them and network for DU students.”
Hartz said staff at the Office of Student Employment regularly network with employers and attend job fairs to help students find careers.
Students interested in browsing the job board and applying for a summer job or internship should go to www.du.edu/summeremployment or www.du.edu/career for more information.
