1. Developing a New Departmental Internship Program Katherine E. Tirabassi, Associate Professor of English Keene State College, Keene, NH CCCC 2015, Tampa, FL

2. Program Origins Keene State’s English major redesign proposed in AY 2010-11, including a new Writing Option. College’s Academic Affairs Strategic Plan (2009-2014) focused on experiential education as a priority (i.e. the time was right for this proposal). Faculty-based College Internship Committee was working to standardize some elements of these widely varied practices, including internship course/per credit hour.

3. Rationale: Internship as Course Course-related internship models already existed on the campus. The Course-based model provides Time for interns to complete internship hours. Dedicated t ime for interns to discuss their experiences (questions, concerns, obstacles, successes) in class. Opportunities to discuss writing/publishing trends and students’ future career interests.

4. Course Assignments/Experiences Journal Entries due every other week. Readings on field trends and transitioning from academic to workplace contexts. Explorations of career and graduate school options. Guest speakers who help interns consider aspects of writing/publishing that students are not exposed to collectively in their internships. Portfolio related to the work for the internship and seminar, including a written analysis of the internship experience and products created during the internship to be used in job interviews, etc.

5. Logistics: Institutional Infrastructure/Support 2008-2015: Experiential Learning Coordinator in flux. Spring 2015: New Internship Coordinator hired. College Guideline for four-credit internships during the semester: 40 hours per credit hour or 160 hours (typically 10-12 hours/week). Internship contract, liability forms now standardized by college lawyer. Challenge: Administered by me, as program coordinator (time-intensive).

6. Timing of the Internship Course Spring semesters (face-to-face class meetings about every other week). Summers (online) Challenge: Internship course is not available in Fall semesters.

7. Initial Program Start-Up Work Wrote course proposal to be included in the Writing Option redesign of the English majors. Sent an introductory email to potential local internship site supervisors, announcing this new program, and gauging interest. Created a list of 25 potential internship sites for students to consider, with contact information of site supervisors, type of internship offered, and types of application materials requested. Organized a departmental internship committee to review application materials of potential interns and recommend particular sites for interns to apply. Challenge: Local businesses receive multiple requests for interns from Keene State College departments. Currently no college-wide coordination on this issue.

8. Timeline for Securing Spring Internships September: Contact potential site supervisors about their interest in hosting an intern in the Spring. Coordinate a Resume Writing Workshop with Career Advising. Email majors/minors about applying for Spring internships. Request application materials from interested students for review by me/departmental internship committee: Resume draft Internship and Future Education Career Goals Statement Writing Sample Meet with individual students about internship questions, to sign permission to register form, recommend specific site to apply to.

9. Timeline Continued October: Work with students applying for internships. November/December/January: Send Internship contract to confirmed site supervisors. Give internship liability paperwork to interns to fill out. Post a time sheet for interns to keep track of hours to internship course site (Canvas).

10. Economics Teaching the course yearly is part of Internship Coordinator teaching load. Summer Internship paid for separately (Continuing Education) First year—no funds for guest speakers, brought in local professionals willing to come to my class. Spring 2015: Small honorarium to pay 2 speakers, with 2 speakers willing to present for no honorarium. Professional freelance writer, NHPR freelance producer Keene State College Corporate Relations Officer (no honorarium) Bedford/St. Martin’s Press Local Sales Rep. (no honorarium) KSC English Alumnae in an editing position

11. Current Program Challenge Program is located in one person vs. department: Sabbatical Spring 2014—course wasn’t taught. A Necessity—With no college-wide internship office coordinating these efforts, the connections I’ve made with local businesses are hard to shift to another internship coordinator. Local Businesses become frustrated when coordinators change too often.

12. A Program Success Variety of Exciting Placements: Local publishing companies (writing/editing, business) Local magazines, weekly and daily newspapers (writing/editing) Nonprofit organizations (grant writing, professional writing) Hospital department (professional writing) Companies (Social Media, editing, etc.) Libraries (professional writing, archival work) Campus Offices (Keene State College Marketing and Communications) Local yearly events (Monadnock International Film Festival, Keene State College Medieval Renaissance Forum).

13. How Students Benefit A broader view of writing/publishing-related opportunities, including those available in unlikely sites. Practical experiences that they can draw on in subsequent job searches. Publications and professional writing materials that they can showcase in interviews, list on resumes, etc. Connections for future jobs and also for letters of recommendation. Opportunities to explore types of work that they enjoy, to confirm, consider, or reflect on whether this type of job is for them in the future.