From researching local history to helping grant wishes to deserving kids, Illinois State University students sharpened their career skills while contributing to the community through summer internships.
“It’s great for an employer to get an ISU intern who does a great job, but it’s also important for students to have that outside experience that they might not have gotten without the opportunity,” said Megan Patterson, M.S. ’22, Career Services internship connections coordinator. “Some of these internships are incredible to hear about. Seeing these students engage in their passions—that’s what’s important.”
Patterson helps connect employers with Illinois State student interns, and she said when one student makes a positive impression on an employer, it often leads to more internship opportunities for future Redbirds.
“The more positive relationships we’re able to build with employers all over the world, the better,” Patterson said.
We interviewed four students who represented Illinois State and made an impact through summer internships.
Andrea Garcia ’22, graduate student, human development and family science, Make-A-Wish Foundation intern
Andrea Garcia was an intern with Make-A-Wish Illinois in the foundation’s downtown Chicago headquarters. As a member of the “talent team,” she assisted with the volunteer onboarding process which included ensuring that new volunteers completed necessary paperwork, participated in a required introductory course, and received an official T-shirt and credential.
“It was my first time working with a nonprofit organization, so I was really excited to learn,” Garcia said. “I learned a lot about how the organization comes together with the different departments—including the marketing and mission teams—on a day-to-day basis to achieve the mission of the organization.”
Make-A-Wish Illinois works to create impactful wish journeys for children with critical illnesses. The organization relies on more than a thousand volunteers to fulfill its mission.
“Our goal was to recruit a lot of volunteers in high-need areas like the South and West sides of Chicago, which are Spanish-speaking areas, and areas where I’ve lived,” said Garcia, a native of Cicero. “Whenever we recruited volunteers from those areas who were Spanish speaking, we would get very excited, because a lot of our Make-A-Wish families are Spanish speaking families.”
Garcia said she also gained valuable experience working on a Make-A-Wish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee. A graduate assistant for Illinois State’s Multicultural Center, Garcia is passionate about EDI work and hopes to be involved with EDI efforts throughout her career. She said she would love to pursue a full-time position with Make-A-Wish in the future.
“The wishes that are being granted are ultimately helping children through a very tough time, and that gives them courage to continue with their therapy or treatment, and it ultimately makes them feel better,” Garcia said. “It was something that I learned about in my family classes, and seeing it happen during my internship was very beautiful.”
Jake Boatman, senior, communications major, Wright Law Office intern
Jake Boatman plans to attend law school after graduating this December, and over the summer, he experienced what it’s like to work as an attorney. Boatman interned in the Wright Law Office, located in Bloomington.
“I learned the ins and outs of law in general,” Boatman said. “I learned the bounds of the law and what exactly lawyers do, what exactly paralegals do and that sort of thing—getting a grasp on how the process happens.”
Boatman said his internship involved work like that of a paralegal, from scheduling and filing to researching evidence. He said his experience working with attorney John Wright at his family law and criminal defense practice helped confirm his intended career path.
“I really enjoyed the people I worked for,” Boatman said. “It’s a small office, and I was able to dip my toe in everything.”
Boatman said, based on his internship experience, he’s leaning toward pursuing criminal defense or family law.
“That’s what we specialized in at the Wright Law Office,” Boatman said. “And, I was adopted. So, I like the idea of helping families.”
Morgan Bueza, senior, history and Spanish major, McLean County Museum of History and West Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission intern
Morgan Bueza is participating in a joint internship with the McLean County Museum of History and the West Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission. Bueza’s project, which has continued into the 2022-2023 school year, is to apply for Bloomington’s Miller Park to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“Our application highlights the significance of Miller Park’s landscape architecture and building architecture and also for its importance within community matters and as a part of larger history,” Bueza said. “A lot of the changes that the park has seen and a lot of the components of the park are indicative of broad U.S. history.”
Established in the late 1800s, Miller Park stretches across nearly 70 acres and includes a man-made lake, a three-story pavilion, and a zoo. Throughout the summer, Bueza sifted through pages of old newspaper articles and other information filed in the McLean County Museum of History’s collection.
Bueza’s research found that part of the park was reconstructed through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. She also noted that the park had racially segregated beaches and bathhouses from the 1910s into the 1950s. And, during the Cold War, she said part of the park may have been identified for use as a fallout shelter.
“There are parts of the park that reflect Bloomington and its chronology,” Bueza said. Based on her extensive research, Bueza drafted a written description of the park emphasizing its historical significance. She also compiled images and a map for the application.
“It’s a very large project that’s been challenging, and it’s taking longer than I expected, but it’s also super enjoyable,” Bueza said. “And I’m really hoping that it will be good for the town. For this to be put on the National Register, I think it would bring a lot of great attention to this part of town.”
Bueza plans to eventually pursue a Ph.D. and could see herself conducting research and teaching at a university. “The experience has given me a great look into public history, which I didn’t really know anything about before,” Bueza said. “So, I would also maybe be interested in working at a museum someday.”
Veronica Ramirez, graduate student, social work, Community Health Care Clinic intern
Veronica Ramirez applied her social work skills in a medical setting as an intern with the Community Health Care Clinic in Normal over the summer.
Ramirez fulfilled several roles, ranging from handling patient intake and connecting patients with community resources to translating for Spanish-speaking patients during conversations with medical staff and volunteers. She also met with patients for psychiatric evaluations and conducted well-being calls.
“I feel that I grew a lot as a social work student and as a future social worker,” Ramirez said. “My confidence grew so much, and I was really grateful to have one-on-one interactions with patients and clients. I was able to apply what I was learning in class to the real world.”
The Community Health Care Clinic provides free services to McLean County’s “medically underserved residents,” according to the clinic’s mission statement. Ramirez said she saw firsthand the barriers faced by people who can’t afford basic health care.
“I think it’s amazing what the clinic does, where they can provide free services to people who qualify so that they don’t end up in the emergency room,” Ramirez said. She supported patients through stressful situations impacting their health. In one case, she helped a patient whose blood pressure was dangerously high.
“Even though I was there for such a short time, I was a friendly face and I was approachable to patients,” Ramirez said. “And they encouraged people in their community who weren’t already patients to go to the clinic because we were all very friendly and willing to help with anything we could.”
Ramirez said she would like to pursue medical social work after earning her master’s degree. And she wants to devote her life to helping improve the well-being of marginalized, underserved communities, much like her experience with the Community Health Care Clinic.
“It was really rewarding,” Ramirez said. “Within our own clinic, we were building a sense of community and making patients feel safe and comfortable.”
Students seeking internships are invited to attend the Fall Internship Fair September 21, hosted by Career Services in the Bone Student Center. Resume review and interview preparation services are available in advance. Career Services also manages the Illinois Cooperative Work Study Program, a grant for paid internships which reimburses nonprofit organizations for up to 50 percent of the intern’s wages and up to 40 percent for for-profit organizations. Additionally, an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Grant may be available for students participating in unpaid internships. Contact Internship Connections Coordinator Megan Patterson or follow Career Services on social media for more information.
