As a student at Penn State, you have often been told about the countless opportunities that the university has to offer. What may be even more unique about Penn State though is that it’s job opportunities that can be a jumpstart for future careers. VALLEY has some highlights around campus that could be the right fit for you!
1. Penn State Athletics Intern
Olivia Catena has been interning with Penn State Athletics since last spring. Starting in a customer relations position allowed her to get a feel for what employees in the department did on a daily basis, but it was not until her next step within athletics that she found what she wanted to do with her life.
Catena heard about the position through one of the panels that Association for Women in Sports Media put on for its members. Sports Information Directors (SIDs) for Penn State were in attendance to talk about their career paths and a day in their lives.
When the SIDs mentioned paid internships in the fall, Catena jumped on the opportunity and applied. Now she is a part of the media relations team.
Every week, there is an office hours component for one’s specific sport, and Catena’s sport is wrestling. “Since wrestling isn’t in season now, I usually do some work for the other SIDs and help out with the football press conferences,” she says. She usually works on media guides or research for potential feature stories.
“My favorite part of the job though is working the football games, because the interns either get to be in the press box or on the field,” she says.
The interns can sign up to work any sporting event in which they typically sign in media crews and write down statistics of the game to give out to the media.
2. Transition Partner
Stephanie Williams worked to help international students transition into their time here at Penn State through the Transition Partner program. She found the program through the volunteer page as she wanted to become more involved on campus.
“The most hands-on part was the three-day orientation where I got to know the students,” she says. In this time, the students learned about Penn State and the laws in the surrounding areas, as well as housing options and bus passes that are available. Williams did all of their paperwork to make sure they could be here legally, travel home and have the proper healthcare.
“It was so eye-opening to see the process of becoming a student in the U.S. and how things really work in other cultures transitioning to America,” says Williams.
3. CommAgency
CommAgency is the only student-run video production company on campus, working exclusively with clients within the university. The agency primarily produces commercials and other promotional content. Students act as producers, directors and editors, to finish projects for clients during the semester. It’s now in it’s third year and has expanded into a photo division as well.
Jake Lazarow started working for CommAgency about a year ago. He mostly works as a director behind the camera, but through CommAgency he gets to see all sides of production. “Easily the best part about CommAgency is the ability to not only work with professional grade equipment, but being able to work in such a professional setting that actually reaches beyond my education and lends itself to the outside world,” says Lazarow.
“Hands-on experience working with a team to create high-quality videos for clients is an absolutely invaluable experience to prepare me for the real world,” he says.
The agency takes all communications majors, but hasn’t yet opened up the application to other colleges.
To find your dream job at Penn State, search the Penn State jobs database.
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