Coe students gain experience and connect with alumni through summer internships
This year, The Princeton Review ranked Coe 10th nationally on its list of Best Schools for Internships in the private college category, as well as 20th for Best Alumni Network among private colleges. In keeping with those rankings, nearly 50 Coe students are completing internships this summer, and many of them are making connections with Coe alumni in the process.
Piper Cooper ’22 is an economic development, research and workforce intern with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. She assists with projects focused on economic development, workforce recruitment and retention, as well as research and analytics for Cedar Rapids and the surrounding areas. She interacts with many members of the Economic Alliance team, including Membership Growth Specialist Anne Laugen ’91. Cooper is learning not only how to collect data and conduct market research but also how to analyze, apply and present her findings.
Cooper has been pleased with how well her Coe coursework in political science and economics has helped her understand and participate in the work and research happening at the Economic Alliance. With the solid foundation Coe has given her, she has been able to make the most of her internship. “I've loved every day here, and I've been continuing to learn so much about helping the community grow and prosper in economic development and have been a part of an incredible team of people who have already allowed me to grow, ask questions and help their organization’s mission. … I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store!” she said.
Caroline Strauel ’22 is spending her summer shadowing Dr. Benge Tallman ’04 at UnityPoint – St. Luke’s Hospital. Tallman is a clinical psychologist who specializes in rehabilitation and health psychology, and Strauel is observing his interactions with patients, as well as assisting him with the setup, maintenance and implementation of therapeutic virtual reality headsets. She also gets to see the behind-the-scenes administrative aspects of delivering care in a hospital setting.
Strauel plans to attend graduate school for health psychology, and several of her professors recommended she reach out to Tallman about an internship. Prior to his current position at St. Luke’s, Tallman was a psychology professor at Coe and has helped Strauel create learning goals and objectives to prepare her for graduate school. “Any time an undergraduate student can get hands-on, practical experience is really critical,” Tallman said. “Caroline is not only gaining experience and understanding what it’s like to be a health psychologist, but also the many other health care providers in the hospital.”
Strauel already has learned a lot at her internship and appreciates the opportunity to see health psychology in action. “I feel very privileged to be able to sit in on Dr. Tallman's patient sessions and have been able to see different interventions that I have heard about for years practiced before me. It has been enriching to view such a strong, collaborative health care team as an undergraduate student intern,” she said.
Kailey Blunk ’22 is learning about the inner workings of nonprofits in her internship with Waypoint Services, an organization providing support and resources to individuals experiencing domestic violence, homelessness and poverty, or those who have been impacted by violent crime. Blunk assists the resource development and marketing team with awareness campaigns, event coordination, marketing efforts and volunteer engagement. Her internship inspired her to organize a donation drive for Waypoint at the Starbucks location where she works part time.
Blunk had plenty of Coe resources in her corner when she pursued the internship. “My professors and C3: Creativity, Careers, Community supported me through the application and interview process, making sure I felt qualified and empowered,” she said. That support is one of the reasons Waypoint Event & Volunteer Manager Brittany Appleton ’16 is always happy to have Kohawk interns on the team. “I appreciate working with Coe students because C3 does a great job helping them develop goals for the experience prior to starting to make sure they are getting the most out of the experience,” she said. “Coe students have been a great asset to Waypoint, serving as volunteers and interns in many different capacities throughout our organization. When they have a good experience with us, they are quick to share that experience with others, which leads to more interest in our opportunities and the work that we do. We truly value our partnership with Coe College.”
Cooper, Strauel and Blunk are just a few of the students who are benefiting from internships where they can learn from Coe alumni. Any alumni interested in recruiting Coe students for internships or jobs are encouraged to contact C3 Director of Careers Nanci Young at nyoung@coe.edu.