September winner, Kimberly Hiller, a Business Management major at NIU, was most recently on an internship with HSBC in Prospect Heights, Illinois and worked as a HR Employee Equity Intern. While at HSBC, Kimberly was assigned to a subsection of the Compensation department called Employee Equity. Previous HR internships had given her experience in staffing, training, and evaluating employees. Kimberly's HSBC internship allowed her to gain knowledge in employee compensation. This employee equity internship also gave her a chance to utilize her international business skills through speaking with other countries and understanding differences in time zones, business etiquette, and lifestyle. Hiller commented about what she learned at NIU and the impact it had during the course of her internship in the following words, “HSBC did not reinforce my career goals, but made completely new ones. I feel this internship was a great way to utilize my previous internship experiences as well as draw from my academic studies.” She also credits the NIU Internship Program with the following comments, “I have used many resources at the Career Services Office such as internship fairs, website, resume critique flyers, mock interviews, and meetings with career counselors. This department has opened the door to many of my goals.”
February Co-op Student of the Month winner, Alysia Huber , a NIU nursing major, completed an applied behavior analysis therapy internship with the Flynn family. This family's three-year-old son has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, and Huber has been working him since October 2004. Although this internship may seem more likely for someone seeking a degree in psychology, Huber states, “ As a future nurse working in pediatrics, taking care of a child with autism is very likely since autism effects one in 166 children born.” She goes on to say, “My personal goal as a nurse is to provide holistic care to my patients and by working with the behavior aspect of an autistic child it will greatly increase my empathy, genuineness, and ability to care for these children in a nursing setting.”
Huber acknowledges the importance of classroom lecture and bookwork to further her education, but states, “When I spend time in therapy with this child I experience the joy, frustration and distress that surpasses any amount of knowledge that can be passed on in the classroom.” While the classroom focus is on disease processes, treatments and interventions, her career-related experience has allowed her to extend this concept. She states, “ I am able to go past what is comfortable and easy to me and interact in new and different ways…just as I will have to as a nurse interacting with and communicating with patients.”
Huber praised NIU's cooperative education and internship program saying, “Without them, I would have never been able to explore these opportunities and acquire the incredible therapy position that I am now working in. From the beginning of my search for an internship they supported my interests and helped me narrow down my search.” Her experiences outside of the classroom have prompted her to talk with other students about how an internship can greatly enhance their learning and skills. She goes on to say, “ Not only is learning enhanced, finding a career-related area can create new interests and enthusiasm toward an area that was not before explored.” Huber summarizes her experience by stating, “This internship is no longer about college credits or personal gain, but is about a child's development and future, and I am truly blessed to be a part of it.”
Margie Flynn, mother of the three-year-old boy Huber works with, praises Huber's ability during her internship as follows, “We count on her dependability daily. Alysia is a quick learner and is able to apply what she has learned with my son which sometimes can be quite challenging. The first time my son met Alysia he didn't even know she was there. After lots of persistence and therapy he now easily goes to her. He makes lots of eye contact and smiles and laughs regularly in his ABA sessions He has begun to speak more and has accepted Alysia into his life.”
Elise Frank Masur, professor of psychology at NIU, has first hand experience with Huber's academic work, impressing her from the beginning with Huber's “seriousness of purpose when she approached me about serving as her faculty advisor.” Masur praises Huber's attitude and commitment by commenting, “Her descriptions of her interactions with the child show that she carries out her responsibilities not only enthusiastically, but also thoroughly and thoughtfully. She can also reflect on the meaning and value of her experiences for the child and for herself. I consider this capacity for reflection a measure of her intellectual maturity.” Masur also appreciates Huber's insight and dedication by saying, “I think that with her interest, enthusiasm, conscientiousness, and dedication she represents a model of the kind of student who benefits from the valuable co-op/internship program.”
The October Student of the Month winner, David Nyquist, an Operations Management major at NIU, interned with Eclipse, Inc. in Rockford, Illinois, as a process engineer. David played an active role in operations management at Eclipse, including authoring work instructions, improving floor layouts and process flow, and performing process mapping, inventory analysis, and capacity studies as well as being involved in new product development. He was also able to see the connection between his academic studies and working in the real world. In Nyquist's words, “My internship has greatly assisted me in both practicing my academic knowledge as well as reinforcing my like for the operations field. This work experience has provided me with a competitive edge for future employment; one, because it has given me a cross functional business experience; and two, because it has allowed me to both enhance applications already learned in class as well as learn new theories and approaches.”