Throughout their college experiences, students partake in a number of intellectually enriching activities, from classes, to research, to extracurriculars and societies and lectures. One such experience is the summer internship, which allows students to gain real-life exposure to potential companies and job functions the student may be interested in. As a result of this great learning opportunity, many Villanova students participate in internships throughout their time here, with the Villanova School of Business reporting that as many as 98.7% of students complete at least one internship.

As the spring semester progresses, many students have accepted offers for internships in a variety of fields.

One such student is Sneha Beri, a Junior Communications major looking to focus in PR and Advertising. Beri recently accepted a position interning on the set of a UCLA graduate thesis film.

“I’ll be a production assistant, and I’ll be working with one of my best friends who is a set designer. As a PA, I’ll mainly be helping with sound, lighting, and blocking. Since my friend is a set designer, I’ll be able to help her design props as well — I’m most excited to work on making prop food,” she explained.

“My current internship is with a PR firm in DC, and while I love it, I feel like there’s something I’m missing. My dream has always been to be a screenwriter, and I wasn’t feeling creatively challenged enough as a writer in my current internship,” Beri elaborated, “I can’t wait to physically be on a movie set. I’ve never been on one, and I can’t imagine what experiencing that energy for the first time is going to be.”

Junior Computer Science and Statistics Double-Major Joshua Mould is also excited to have the opportunity to intern in a field he is extremely passionate about, as an Associate Quantitative Analyst for the Philadelphia Phillies this summer at Citizens Bank Park. 

“I’m working for a Major League Baseball team, which has always been my dream. I’m extremely excited to go to a ballpark for work every day and be able to call that my office. I can’t wait to start making an impact on a Major League Baseball team by helping them win games, and it would be incredible to see my projects be implemented on the field,” he shared.

Although most internships are typically reserved for upperclassmen, a number of underclassmen have also secured positions for this summer.

Gemma Krautzel, a Sophomore Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience major, will be interning at Delaware Orthopedic Specialists (DOS), where she will conduct research using a surgery database and shadow doctors within the practice.

“This internship provides me incredible first-hand experience within the clinical and surgical environments. I also have the opportunity to engage in prominent research that has the potential to be published. Through this internship, I will learn medical jargon, how to interact with patients, and specific information regarding the spine and nervous system,” she explained. 

Likewise, Sophomore Applied Quantitative Finance Major Enrique Moel Miranda received an offer for an internship at the Boston Consulting Group, where he will cover and advise companies with supply chain issues.

Most students point to networking as being the singular most important factor in landing their internships.

“One of the current Phillies Analysts graduated from my high school so I was able to get in touch with him and he gave me a lot of direction for how to improve my skills and what I need to work on in order to make myself stand out for this kind of role,” Mould explained.

“One of my best friends goes to UCLA and is a film minor, and we have worked together on writing sketches in the past. She suggested me for this role. I’m extremely grateful for her recommendation,” Beri shared.

As internships often involve the placement of students in roles they have little to no prior experience with, many students have expressed hesitation and nervousness, in addition to their excitement. 

“I am nervous to shadow the intense surgeries that the spinal surgeon completes. I am learning to scrub in, how the operating room works, and how to interact with patients before and after surgery. This is an strenuous process that can be overwhelming at times as there is so much to learn so quickly,” Krautzel explained.

“Since I’ve never done any of this before, I’m very scared to make a big mistake since movie production can be very fickle. I know I just need to get out of my own head and let other people help me when I stumble, though,” Beri shared.

However, students express confidence that the skills and knowledge they have acquired through their Villanova education will sufficiently prepare them. 

“I’ve had a good amount of group project experience with Villanova to prepare for this internship. I am almost entirely self taught in my baseball analytics skills, but the theoretical background in statistics and the practical coding skills I’ve learned through computer science classes have definitely helped lay a great foundation for me,” Mould said.

“Villanova has done an excellent job of preparing me to succeed and take full advantage of this internship,” Moel Miranda added.