Northwestern University's Higher Education Administration and Policy (MSHE) Program's internship placement supports student careers and professional development. In addition to working in the MSHE office, MSHE's three graduate assistants also intern in distinct areas of higher education at two institutions and three campuses across Evanston and Chicago.
Domenic Lamberti interns with the International Programs Office at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law on the Chicago campus. He enjoys working directly with international graduate students and is currently overseeing a new program called Global Partners to engage international and domestic students with one another. He hopes to keep working with international students or study abroad in the future, so his internship is an opportunity for him to gain some practical experience in the field and learn more about the issues facing international offices.
Elyse Yarnell interns in the Career Services office at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. She enjoys working directly with students and guiding them through the job search process, which includes helping them with resume building and networking. She also helps students with self-assessments to determine their strengths and values. Elyse entered into the MSHE program hoping to work with career services, and she is happy that her internship experience directly relates to her career goals in higher education.
Jamie Jeune interns in the Office of Student Life in the Medill School of Journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern’s Evanston campus. She really enjoys the academic advising component of her role. She gets to talk to students on an individual level, not only about their academic goals, but also their more personal concerns. For Jamie, it has been so rewarding to be a support system for students and offer encouragement to them however they need it.
After completing the program, Jamie plans to work as an academic adviser, so her internship is a perfect fit. The social justice culture of the office has been a great way for her to understand how to advocate for underrepresented students in her future role as an academic adviser.
These are just a few examples of how MSHE students’ internships support the skills and knowledge needed to launch, change, or advance careers in higher education. MSHE encourages students to intern at Northwestern in addition to other colleges and universities should they wish to gain experience at different institutional types.