Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Final co-op at Drawform

Will
Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering My primary project this semester involved transferring several large pieces of equipment to a sister company in Connecticut. My role in this transfer has been the project manager at our facility. I did also had a couple of simple design projects which were also enjoyable.

The Disher Co-op Experience

Casandra
Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering This co-op term, I worked offsite as a Product Launch Coordinator for a Tier 1 automotive supplier. I was in charge of line layout, inventory, training new employees, getting our orders built on time, and shipping and receiving. I also worked at a high tech manufacturing facility as a Quality Technician for the pilot line. There, I was in charge of collecting data so that we could show the capability of our machines and processes.

My internship in Senator Levin's Office.

Derrick
Major: Political Science While in the office, I was responsible for tracking and following correspondence from constituents, interest groups, and agencies. When necessary, I connected constituents with inquires to proper staff and/or agencies. I was the one typically the one who answered phone calls dealing with a wide range of topics from past/current legislation to more personal issues. This internship also gave me to opportunity to draft letters and become more familiar with the structure of a congressional office.

The Washington Center

Bridget
Major: Political Science I took an investigative intern position at the Public Defender's office of Rockville, Maryland where I served subpoena's, wrote statements of victims, photographed crime scenes, and testified in court. I also took a night class on Thursdays on how Washington really works regarding the relationship between the public, private, and non-profit sectors. I took part in a civic engagement program for the LGBTQA community that required 15 hours of community service. I had programming every Monday for International Affairs where we met professionals who found their way after college and provided insight to their careers.

Real Law Experience in a Great GR-based Firm!

Quinlyn
Major: Political Science As legal support, I spent a lot of time doing basic administrative tasks required in order for everyone else to do their job efficiently (i.e. opening mail, scanning mail to proper file, etc.), but that was really just the base. After getting a great handle on the basic tasks, what I did beyond there was really in relation to how much time I had to learn more. There was never a time in my four months here that I wasn't learning a new task to take on a new responsibility.

Development Work in DC

Jacob
Major: Political Science I interned in the Development Department of the United Planning Organization (UPO). The aim of the department is to secure increased private funding of the UPO's programs. After the government shutdown and the general sequester mentality of Washington, the large amounts of DC and federal government funding became vulnerable. Therefore, the Development Department was established to steer UPO funding towards the private sector where money is more secure and has less stipulations. My primary role over the summer was the main project manager of the upcoming online auction. In this role, I helped procure donations reaching out to private businesses and UPO connections for support. There was a heavy amount of messaging involved as my supervisor and I constructed email and phone scripts for our methods of reaching out. The different types of potential donors required unique arrangements of information and different stresses in that information as well. I also compiled item images, descriptions and company logos for the donated items and their online pages. The online auction site also involved an auction homepage which I played part in crafting. I also handled some other projects as the Development intern. One type included research of potential partners for future UPO projects. For example, the UPO was hoping to begin an IDA program to help low-income residents save money. This required a partnership with a private matcher of the funds, so I conducted research on financial institutions to determine a likely partner in this arrangement. I searched for their philanthropic activity in hopes of finding an organization who participated in a similar program in the past making them most viable to approach. Beyond research, I also attended many meetings with UPO department heads to discuss fiscal year 2015 funding along with various conferences about development strategies and related non-profit business.

Senior Intern for the Livingston County Democratic Office

Lindsey
Major: Political Science I was able to attend several fundraisers for candidates. I also participated in the petition drive to get raising the minim wage on the ballot this November. I was able to go to several events for Mark Schauer who is running to be Michigan's next governor. I helped organize and send out thank you letters to people who came to Winans Dinner and went to post office and learned how to send out bulk mail for the party. I went to a Heartland Memorial Day parade to work at the booth for Livingston County Democrats. I was able to meet a union rep who is highly involved with the Livingston County Democrats who talked about how unions are involved in the democratic parties politics. I went to Lansing to turn in my petition signatures to the Secretary of State to help Raise Michigan increase the amount of signatures needed to get the issue on the November ballet for public vote. My boss had me began to organize a list of people to come in and do phone banking for the Coordinated Campaign. The Coordinated Campaign combines the effort for both the congressional race and the gubernatorial race. We drew up the phone list of who would be called to volunteer. I created a spread sheet to organize and keep track of how many calls we made and what the responses were as well as created a spread sheet to keep track of which volunteers we called, should call, and track who was able to attend the phone banking that week and who would be able to help in future weeks. I attended campaign strategy meetings for the candidates running for office in Livingston County. I worked on recruiting other interns from the area so we could start canvasing for candidates. I went out canvasing, or going door to door asking people to vote for a candidate. I was also able to attend a debate that was happening between the candidates running for the 8th distract, 47th district and the 42nd district. I was able to attended a training seminar on how to oversee Election Day polls as an Election Day inspector. Although my internship officially ended on 8/1/2014 I will be working as a election day poll inspector in the Hamburg Township for the primary election on August 5th 2014.

MIGOP

Ethan
Major: Political Science -Placing phone calls for the purpose of voter contact -Going door-to-door for the purpose of voter contact -Contacting prospective helpers for Election Day

Pre-Law Internship

Chelsea
Major: Political Science Each week, I was assigned a different attorney to work with. I worked with attorneys in many different areas of law including probate and estate law, family law, real estate law, and corporate law. I assisted with legal research as well as trial preparation work and litigation.

My Internship at City Hall

Zachary
Major: Political Science As an intern in the Administrative Services department at the City of Grand Rapids, I was able to complete a large number of diverse projects for the organization. I was able to do all of the following: participate in candidate interviews, perform data analysis for the City's succession plan, join the board of a young professionals network called govern: GR, and give a presentation about the importance of employing young professionals to the City's top management.

Internship for the OECD Washington Center

Erik
Major: Political Science I drafted media advisories and press releases resulting in increased coverage for the OECD's work. I compiled media reviews for the Secretary-General of the OECD, on the 2014 U.N. Climate Summit and the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. I would update the OECD contacts database to improve the efficiency of media campaigns. Preparing daily press clips for staff and monitoring news sources for articles of interest to the OECD was a task I would regularly do. My most frequent task was operating the OECD Washington Center's social media devices like Facebook and Twitter.

Grand Valley Student Narrowly Falls Short in Write-In Bid for School Board

Adam
Major: Political Science As a candidate I was responsible for running my entire campaign. I worked on literature and campaigning working with various unions, the media, and voters.

A must for future lawyers

Jennifer
Major: Political Science I completed many different tasks while working. The dominate area that I focused on was bankruptcy as well. i would set up the file, input all the information, request missing information, set up appointment, and sit in on review. That was standard for the Chapter 7 cases and 13 cases. Chapter 13 cases had more documents that were drafted. I communicated with our clients, my boss, opposing counsel, trustees, and their staffs. I also drafted and served documents for divorce and custody matters. AS well as, probate. I also did the basic such as drafting letters, answering phones, emails, and filing.

WMRECC Internship

Shannon
Major: Political Science I worked as a Site Administration intern, assisting with data collection and organization, as well as with administering tests to determine student reading and comprehension proficiency levels. I also helped out with tutoring during the hours of the after school program.

Women, Politics & Non-profits

Sierra
Major: Political Science During this internship I had to do a variety of tasks, including: Creating and maintaining a social media presence, recruiting participants, researching the political activity of past participants, researching statistics on women in office, acquiring sponsors and tracking donations, attending networking events, and drafting documents such as biographies, contracts, recruitment materials, and event logistics.

The Washington Center Internship Experience

Rachel
Major: Political Science Along with the other interns, I planned and hosted a monthly pub quiz for young professionals. I assisted in executing multiple events with distinguished authors, professionals, and government officials,including ambassadors and foreign heads of state. I was also responsible for writing blog posts and summaries about these events. I was also involved in carrying out two week-long educational seminars for high school students and educators.

Congressional Internship

Trevor
Major: Political Science Drafted policy memos, wrote correspondence, assisted in legislative research, lead capitol tours, provided administrative aid

Campaign Internship

Amy
Major: Political Science I did mostly research on townships and communities. I found out the most important town aspects were, meeting dates, events, parades, and current community projects. I also edited many fliers, thank you emails, etc. In addition I was an admin for the Facebook and Twitter pages, while also proofreading and providing a different perspective for the website.

Volunteer Assistant Sprint and Hurdle Coach

Kalena
Major: Political Science I assisted Coach Keith and Tessa Roberts in hurdles and sprint practice. I help oversee study table hours twice a week for 3 hours a day. I help coordinated scheduling and practice times. I assist athletes in proper lifting technique and running form. I oversee community events such as Girls Day in Sports, Make a Wish Foundation and athlete student panels. I communicate with the athletic administration office dealing with confidential information. I was also left responsible for special events that pertain to our student-athletes such as team dinner, and distinguished speakers. Besides all of my mandatory tasks, I supported student-athletes and advised them in their personal lives.

Career Development through non-profit refugee work

Quinlyn
Major: Political Science My internship was a blend of research and development and administration. I spent the first half of my internship mainly focusing on the research. I would research specific countries and create country profile presentations that would explain the conflict in that country, and how the refugee situation was created. I also spend time doing extensive research on the process of becoming a refugee and the policy surrounding that. The latter half of my internship has focused more on parent engagement curriculum development and converting files over to a new format.

Playing In The Big Leagues

Brady
Major: Political Science Tasks completed. Filing of the Affidavit of Identity. Statement of Organization. Opposition research. Strategy development. Messaging development. Walk strategy. Fundraising strategy. Networking in the community . News interview prep. Radio interview prep. Debate prep. Platform cohesiveness. Marketing and advertising strategy. Etc.

Liquor Lawerin'

Brennen
Major: Political Science A bulk of the work I was in charge of was analyses for proposed and enacted liquor law related legislation in the Michigan Legislature, federal requirements for manufacturing and exportation, as well as several other related issues. I kept the firm up to date on any progress or changes. I was also in charge of the firms social media presence and keeping regular information posted as well as drafting outlines for blog posts on the firms blog. I helped to prepare outlines of closing statements, bills of sale, promissory notes, purchase agreements, land contracts, and other documents related to the sale/transfer of real & personal property. On several occasions I attended Michigan Liquor Control Commission violation hearings & licensing appeals.

My Washington, D.C. Experience

Alissa
Major: Political Science I gave my input for the 2013 National Drug Control Strategy, some of which will be included in the 2013 Strategy. I focused a lot of Prescription Drug use, Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, and the effects drug use can have on pregnant women. I studied a variety of laws, and put together a variety of documents for internal use as well.

My Washington Experience

Kyle
Major: Political Science Many of my tasks were research oriented and were designed to obtain information for our clients in order for them to plan accordingly compared to the information I gathered. In many instances, the research that I would do and write about would go out in memos directly to the clients, which made me really feel like I was making an impact for the company and not just another intern.

Technology Commercialization

Elizabeth
Major: Political Science Patent and Copyright research. I research patents and copyrights through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO.gov) and the US copyright office (Copyright.gov) Grant dissemination: I read through grant applications to determine if their presentations are accurate. I then give my approval and send it on for further review by my boss. Write Material Transfer Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements: I wrote the template agreements for the technology commercialization office. I make all modifications needed after signing an agreement with counter-parties. We have a material transfer agreement template for when we send out material that I wrote and maintain. This is used anytime we send or receive biological or chemical matter. I also wrote our confidentiality agreement template. Research and Development Committee: I sit on the committee and give student input on the requested grants that the committee receives. I also participate in a subcommittee that is looking to expand our grants program. Provide daily reception services. I field phone calls and emails, and organize meeting spaces. I also distribute mail, categorize and index filing systems, prepare and duplicate company reports and documents, and input and analyze data.