Internships an important part of the college experience

As recent graduates of St. Bonaventure’s First-Year Experience (FYE) program, sophomores are often faced with new challenges and opportunities within their major.

Dr. David DiMattio, associate professor of physics and dean of Clare College, says students typically start investigating internships during their sophomore year. He said internships ultimately help students prepare for life after college by directing their career paths.

“What it an internship allows them to do is broaden their idea of what they’re going to do with their degree after they leave four years from now. It makes them aware that maybe they’re meant for graduate school or maybe they’re meant for some other realm in terms of the workforce,” DiMattio said

Michael Kasperski, lecturer in accounting and director of internships for the School of Business, says there are many reasons for students to start pursuing internships.

“Some majors require a lot of internship hours,” Kasperski said. “If you start early, it’s a lot easier to get those hours out of the way before you graduate.”

“The practical reason I’d do it,” he added, “is it allows the students to get different experiences. If you start early in your career at Bona’s doing internships, you can do a couple different internships in your major and it gives you a different aspect of what the field is going to be like.”

Sophomore business major Kyle Armstrong spent last summer interning at Pioneer Motorsports Inc. in Arcade, N.Y. He said he pursued an internship because of the real-life experience it offered. Armstrong said his professors encouraged him to seek an internship.

“Teachers have definitely pushed me and advised me to get internships,” he said.

Patrick Vecchio, lecturer and internship coordinator for the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said internships offer more than just required hours and professional training.

“They also show students things they simply can’t learn in the classroom: how well they’ll interact with co-workers, to name just one of many potential examples,” Vecchio said. “Internships also can give students an idea about professions they might not want to pursue. That’s valuable information, and the sooner the student does an internship, the sooner he or she might gain such insight.”

Sophomore journalism/mass communication major Adam Bennett interned in the sports department of the Olean Times Herald last summer. He believes the biggest benefit of internships is the preparation it gives you for a post-college profession.

“I really feel that the more experience you have before and through college, going into the workplace, the more prepared and better off you’ll be right off the bat,” he said.

Kasperski said business students can talk with him at his office in the John J. Murphy Professional Building about getting started on an internship. For journalism students, Vecchio recommended seeking out opportunities at campus media outlets such as The Bona Venture, The Buzz or SBU-TV. Both recommended checking out the Career Center on the second floor of the Reilly Center for valuable internship opportunities in any major.

Seeking an internship, like any job, is hard work, said Vecchio and Kasperski.

“This really is like seeking a job after graduation,” Vecchio said. “For the most part, students are going to have to go out and get one.”

“It starts with their own legwork,” Kasperski said.

Kasperski said such hard work pays off with invaluable skills that just cannot be taught in the classroom.

“You’re going to see what the day-to-day activities are, and you can’t beat that,” Kasperski said. “I can sit in the classroom all day and talk about accounting, but once you’re out in the field doing it, you can’t beat that type of experience.”

-Charlie Specht
Class of '10

WHAT'S GOING ON . . .
Upcoming events on campus include:
Friday, 10/19 - Communications Day
Friday, 10/19 - Comedian Louis Ramsey in Cafe La Verna
Friday, 10/19 - Amstel Saxophone Quartet
Friday-Sunday, 10/19-21 - Discernment Retreat Weekend for men at Mt. Irenaeus
Sunday, 10/21 - CAB Travel - Bills vs. Ravens
Sunday, 10/21 - Walk for Cystic Fibrosis
Sunday, 10/21 - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) General Interest Meeting
Monday, 10/22 - Behind the Swoosh - Sweat Shops and Social Justice
Tuesday, 10/23 - Dr. Peggy McIntosh Lecture
Wednesday, 10/24 - Reading by Poet and Translator Clayton Eschleman
Thursday, 10/25 - Vic Tarana, father of an SBU freshman and a franchise owner, will discuss franchising operations and considerations, addressing several of the issues raised in Fast Food Nation
Thursday, 10/25 - Counseling Center Stress Free Night
Friday, 10/26 - Amazing Day of Races sponsored by Disability Committee to celebrate Disability Awareness Month
Friday, 10/26 - Men's & Women's Swimming vs. Pittsburgh
Thursday, 11/1 - Last day to withdraw from and undergraduate course with W grade
Friday, 11/2 - Women's Soccer vs. LaSalle

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New printing policy in campus labs

Paper at St. Bonaventure may have appeared to students as a resource that would never run out. That impression and the lack of limits on printing at the public computer labs on campus led to extremely high volume of printing, some of it undoubtedly wasteful. As a result, this year the campus welcomed not only a new group of freshmen, but also a new printing policy.

In the spring semester of 2006, students printed 525,000 pages in the computer labs. That number grew to 600,000 pages in the fall semester and 640,000 pages in the spring of 2007, said Michael Hoffman, executive director for technology services.

To cut that number, Tech Services issued a policy restricting free printing to 500 pages per student per semester. After that number is reached, the student using one of the six public computer labs will have to pay $5 for 100 additional pages.

Here's how the system works: Before every print job, a window appears on the screen telling students how many pages remain in their account. To print, students must click “OK,” agreeing to the terms of use and indicating their full understanding of the number of pages they have left.

In 2006, Hoffman said, only 280 students would have exceeded the 500-page limit.

The staff of Tech Services looked at other schools’ printing policies to help shape St. Bonaventure’s. Most schools used 350-400 pages as their limit.

“Since it’s a new policy, we wanted to start off generously,” said Hoffman. “This policy will only really affect a small portion of students.”

Even with the new limits, Hoffman still discourages students from purchasing their own printers. In comparison, $5 for an extra 100 pages will be way less than $50-$60 printer ink cartridges, plus paper.

“It’s not a good financial decision,” said Hoffman. “Having your own printer should be for convenience rather than cost.”

Students appear to have no problem with the new policy. Hoffman said he hasn’t heard of any complaints yet.

Sophomore Erin McCarthy prints something out every day, and said she is more conscious now of what she prints.

“I'm a special education major so I'm always printing out PowerPoint presentations and research papers. I think the page limit is good because we waste paper a lot by printing out things that are only a sentence long,” said McCarthy, who now tries to fit as much as possible on one page.

Shane Abrams said he has been unaffected by the new policy.

“Even if I were a JMC or English major, 500 pages is a lot. If you have to do five 10-page papers for a 15-credit semester (5 classes), that's only 250 pages being printed out. You still have the other 250 pages to print whatever you want!” said Abrams, a sophomore accounting major.

Hoffman’s belief that the limits would change students’ printing habits appears to be coming true.

At this point in 2006, students had printed a total of 160,000 pages. This year, students have printed 103,000 pages, a difference of 57,000 pages.

“If this continues with the trend we could be down about $7,000 a semester in printing costs, though this is a rough estimate,” said Hoffman.

As the year carries on, hopefully the trash and recycling bins in all of the six labs will continue to remain relatively empty, as more and more students strive to cut back on wasteful printing.

-Kelly Jackson
Class of '08