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Northern Illinois University

Career Services

Letters of Recommendation Tip

Sometimes employers and faculty may not be able to submit their letters by the deadline. For this reason it is a good idea to ask more than one person in each category to submit a letter so that the likelihood of meeting the deadline with at least one letter in each category is increased.

Internship/Co-op
Student of the Month Information

Criteria

  • Applicants must be on an internship/co-op placement during the year of the award.
  • Applicants must submit a signed Student of the Month application.
  • Applicants must submit a writing sample that describes their internship/co-op experience(s) in at least three paragraphs emphasizing the following:

    1. How it relates to your academic studies.
    2. What you learned from working that you did not learn in the classroom.
    3. How it has changed and/or reinforced your career goals.
    4. How you feel your placement has give you a competitive edge in your future career.
    5. Why you would recommend career-related work experiences to other students.
    6. How the NIU Career Services office has assisted you in the internship/co-op placement process.

  • Applicants must submit 2 letters of recommendation ON LETTERHEAD (or in e-mail form) from:

    1. Your Internship/Co-op employer.
    2. An NIU faculty member EITHER the professor supervising your internship/co-op class if you are receiving academic credit OR an NIU faculty member in your major department OR any NIU faculty member who is familiar with your academic work.

Deadline

All applications, writing samples, and letters of recommendation must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. in the Career Services office the day of the deadline. Applications that are not completed by this time will not be considered.

Applications

Applications will automatically be sent to all internship/co-op students who are on an internship/co-op placement during the month of the award. If you do not receive an application and want to find out if you qualify, e-mail Diane Hart or call (815) 753-7159. Once you have completed an application, you will be eligible for consideration throughout the school year. You need not reapply.

Any falsification of information will void the application. GPA will be verified.

Awards

  • congratulations announced in the Northern Star and sent to local hometown newspaper.
  • $100 HSC Bookstore gift certificate.
  • eligibility to enter Internship/Co-op Student of the Year competition.