Announcing the 2012 Outstanding Co-op/Intern of the Year Award
College: College of Education & Health Sciences
Major: Dietetics
"During the summer following my sophomore year at Bradley, I spent six days a week working as a Sous Chef at a senior living facility..." (Read Full Bio)
College: College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Major: History
Employer: Peoria Riverfront Museum
"The past year has been an incredibly rewarding experience. As an intern for the Education Department of Peoria Riverfront Museum, I have had the opportunity to work directly in the field that I want to enter post-graduation..." (Read Full Bio)
College: Foster College of Business Administration
Major: Finance/Economics
Employer: Robert Bosch Tool Corporation
"As a junior, double majoring in finance and economics, I have worked to apply my many experiences at Bradley University in a variety of ways to broaden my professional background..." (Read Full Bio)
College: Slane College of Communications & Fine Arts
Major: Music Business
Employer: peermusic
"Music and business are two words that you would not immediately associate with each other. It’s a contrast between passion and logic, artistic expression vs. financial strategy; yet, the harmony between the two forms an industry that entertains the world..." (Read Full Bio)
College: College of Engineering & Technology
Major: Industrial Engineering
Employer: Caterpillar Inc.
"My first engineering experience took place at a small foundry. I started with no engineering experience other than what I had received in my first two years of engineering classes at Bradley. Due to the small size of the company, I was given challenging projects to complete..." (Read Full Bio)
During the summer following my sophomore year at Bradley, I spent six days a week working as a Sous Chef at a senior living facility. I had envisioned this job as being my first step towards a culinary profession, but the long hours I spent chopping and whisking quickly deterred me from this dream. I grew eager for a more professional job: one that didn’t involve a dirty apron or searing pork chops for 200 people. As an aspiring dietitian, I will have the opportunity to work in a plethora of different fields. This is why in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, we are encouraged to obtain work experience in different settings, because it will help us hone in on our future career objectives.
The summer following my junior year, I began my internship at The Cancer Center for Healthy Living, Inc. (CCHL). When my internship neared the end in August of 2012, my boss invited me to continue my work through the fall and even spring. As an Intern, I have had many opportunities that allow me to apply and practice my knowledge of dietetics.
In only the first few weeks of my internship I was trained on how to perform nutrition screenings on patients using a standardized assessment tool. Over time, I have been involved in the grant reporting process, nutrition consults with the dietitian, charting patient paperwork, developing new recipes and purging expired patient files. One task that has been particularly meaningful was the opportunity to draft post-consult intervention statements (which surely sounds boring to any stranger). At the same time I was doing this, I was learning about the same procedures in my senior Nutrition Assessment course at Bradley. I have been able to reference my current education during my internship, which is a very humbling experience!
My supervisor has been an incredible mentor: seizing every possible opportunity to teach me about the application of dietetics. These generous opportunities are helping prepare me for the professional world. Working closely with patients and their families teaches me a significant amount about dietetics in both clinical and community environments.
As I enter my final year at Bradley and prepare my application for the highly competitive dietetic internship, I know this summer’s experience will benefit me immensely. It has directed me to the concentration of dietetics most suitable to my interests and will serve as a great point of reference for continuing my education. The opportunity for experiential learning while interning at CCHL enhanced not only my scholastic knowledge of dietetics, but also my progression as an aspiring dietitian.
The summer following my junior year, I began my internship at The Cancer Center for Healthy Living, Inc. (CCHL). When my internship neared the end in August of 2012, my boss invited me to continue my work through the fall and even spring. As an Intern, I have had many opportunities that allow me to apply and practice my knowledge of dietetics.
In only the first few weeks of my internship I was trained on how to perform nutrition screenings on patients using a standardized assessment tool. Over time, I have been involved in the grant reporting process, nutrition consults with the dietitian, charting patient paperwork, developing new recipes and purging expired patient files. One task that has been particularly meaningful was the opportunity to draft post-consult intervention statements (which surely sounds boring to any stranger). At the same time I was doing this, I was learning about the same procedures in my senior Nutrition Assessment course at Bradley. I have been able to reference my current education during my internship, which is a very humbling experience!
My supervisor has been an incredible mentor: seizing every possible opportunity to teach me about the application of dietetics. These generous opportunities are helping prepare me for the professional world. Working closely with patients and their families teaches me a significant amount about dietetics in both clinical and community environments.
As I enter my final year at Bradley and prepare my application for the highly competitive dietetic internship, I know this summer’s experience will benefit me immensely. It has directed me to the concentration of dietetics most suitable to my interests and will serve as a great point of reference for continuing my education. The opportunity for experiential learning while interning at CCHL enhanced not only my scholastic knowledge of dietetics, but also my progression as an aspiring dietitian.
The past year has been an incredibly rewarding experience. As an intern for the Education Department of Peoria Riverfront Museum, I have had the opportunity to work directly in the field that I want to enter post-graduation. Not only did it help prepare me for the job market, it has also been simultaneously the most fun, challenging, and personally rewarding job I’ve ever had.
My relationship with Peoria Riverfront Museum has gone back to the very beginning of my collegiate career. When I came to Bradley I was an undecided major. Like most eighteen-year-olds, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Through the Academic Exploration Program, I had the opportunity to job shadow at the (then Lakeview) museum. I was so impressed with both the mission and the people that I made it my goal to work in the field of museum education. Needless to say, when an internship position opened up at the same museum my Junior year, I applied as soon as I could.
As an intern, much of my job involves developing educational materials for our collections, and making them approachable to people of all ages and backgrounds. On weekends, I operate the planetarium and host live star talks. My current project involves writing signs for the community solar system. When completed, this 99,000,000:1 scale model will encompass all of central Illinois with the Sun centered on the museum plaza. I always look forward to seeing the tangible results of my work, it is perhaps the most satisfying aspect of my job.
A lot has changed over the past four years. When I applied, I knew nothing about the field other than my own interest in arts and sciences. Since then, I have developed a diverse and relevant skill-set. I doubt any intern at any other museum would have received half the opportunities I had over the past year.
My relationship with Peoria Riverfront Museum has gone back to the very beginning of my collegiate career. When I came to Bradley I was an undecided major. Like most eighteen-year-olds, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Through the Academic Exploration Program, I had the opportunity to job shadow at the (then Lakeview) museum. I was so impressed with both the mission and the people that I made it my goal to work in the field of museum education. Needless to say, when an internship position opened up at the same museum my Junior year, I applied as soon as I could.
As an intern, much of my job involves developing educational materials for our collections, and making them approachable to people of all ages and backgrounds. On weekends, I operate the planetarium and host live star talks. My current project involves writing signs for the community solar system. When completed, this 99,000,000:1 scale model will encompass all of central Illinois with the Sun centered on the museum plaza. I always look forward to seeing the tangible results of my work, it is perhaps the most satisfying aspect of my job.
A lot has changed over the past four years. When I applied, I knew nothing about the field other than my own interest in arts and sciences. Since then, I have developed a diverse and relevant skill-set. I doubt any intern at any other museum would have received half the opportunities I had over the past year.
As a junior, double majoring in finance and economics, I have worked to apply my many experiences at Bradley University in a variety of ways to broaden my professional background.
I am involved in several on campus organizations such as Student Senate, Greek life, and the Dean’s Student Advisory Council along with working off campus. In each of these endeavors I strive to enhance my knowledge, skills and professionalism at all times.
Last summer I interned at the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation in Mount Prospect, IL. In my role at Bosch, I worked with management on a daily basis to help develop the new function of Category Management, including the creation of numerous financial reports. The skills I learned at my internship will last a lifetime, ranging from advanced Excel features and proper financial report design to working within a large corporation. My Bradley education has provided an excellent foundation for me to flourish in this internship, and the many skills I learned at Bosch have already been applicable in my course work at Bradley. The synergy between my classroom studies and this experiential opportunity has better prepared me for the future.
The experiences I had at Bosch were invaluable. I look forward to many new projects and learning opportunities next summer when I return to work for Bosch.
I am involved in several on campus organizations such as Student Senate, Greek life, and the Dean’s Student Advisory Council along with working off campus. In each of these endeavors I strive to enhance my knowledge, skills and professionalism at all times.
Last summer I interned at the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation in Mount Prospect, IL. In my role at Bosch, I worked with management on a daily basis to help develop the new function of Category Management, including the creation of numerous financial reports. The skills I learned at my internship will last a lifetime, ranging from advanced Excel features and proper financial report design to working within a large corporation. My Bradley education has provided an excellent foundation for me to flourish in this internship, and the many skills I learned at Bosch have already been applicable in my course work at Bradley. The synergy between my classroom studies and this experiential opportunity has better prepared me for the future.
The experiences I had at Bosch were invaluable. I look forward to many new projects and learning opportunities next summer when I return to work for Bosch.
Music and business are two words that you would not immediately associate with each other. It’s a contrast between passion and logic, artistic expression vs. financial strategy; yet, the harmony between the two forms an industry that entertains the world. The music business program at Bradley continues to help me understand the conflicting ideas and make a career from the chaos.
My internship with peermusic, industry leading music publisher, was based at the LA office working mostly in the A&R and Film & TV departments. Most of my days began with checking the intern e-mail account. Often times my supervisor, director of the Film & TV department would send me assignments and keep me updated as to what specific projects he was working on. Once I collected all my tasks for the day, I would go into his office with his assistant to go over my assignments, check progress of ongoing projects, and answer any questions I had regarding the day’s work.
It was with the on-going projects that I felt I learned the most from the internship. As a music publisher, it is important to be fully aware of developing films and TV programs. During my first few weeks I took the initiative to drastically improve the existing production grid. This grid was a sophisticated database I made in Microsoft Excel that listed, in detail, all the new films and TV to be released in the coming year. By using the production grid my supervisor was well aware of all the opportunities to sync songs to new films and TV programs.
My last project of the internship was an A&R presentation. The goal of this assignment was to take all of what I learned and apply it to a PowerPoint presentation displaying music from unsigned songwriters. The project required me to research online for new talented songwriters and convince my audience that the songwriters I chose were worthy of serious consideration. I spent time analyzing the style of their music and describing how the signing of theses songwriters to the peermusic catalog would benefit the company. It was one of my final impressions I left behind to not only my supervisor but also the catalog manager, vice president, and president/CEO of peermusic.
At the beginning of this internship, my supervisor set three main goals for my time as an intern; learn how music is acquired to the catalog, learn the process of pitching music, and have an overall understanding of what a music publisher does. In just three months I was able to complete each of those goals through the projects and interactions I experienced at peermusic. I felt that my overall work greatly benefited the company. I put all my effort into perfecting each project and being as efficient as possible with my time. I believe that the high quality of my work made a great impression on my co-workers. The strong relationships that I made at peermusic will greatly benefit me when I begin looking for a job.
My internship with peermusic, industry leading music publisher, was based at the LA office working mostly in the A&R and Film & TV departments. Most of my days began with checking the intern e-mail account. Often times my supervisor, director of the Film & TV department would send me assignments and keep me updated as to what specific projects he was working on. Once I collected all my tasks for the day, I would go into his office with his assistant to go over my assignments, check progress of ongoing projects, and answer any questions I had regarding the day’s work.
It was with the on-going projects that I felt I learned the most from the internship. As a music publisher, it is important to be fully aware of developing films and TV programs. During my first few weeks I took the initiative to drastically improve the existing production grid. This grid was a sophisticated database I made in Microsoft Excel that listed, in detail, all the new films and TV to be released in the coming year. By using the production grid my supervisor was well aware of all the opportunities to sync songs to new films and TV programs.
My last project of the internship was an A&R presentation. The goal of this assignment was to take all of what I learned and apply it to a PowerPoint presentation displaying music from unsigned songwriters. The project required me to research online for new talented songwriters and convince my audience that the songwriters I chose were worthy of serious consideration. I spent time analyzing the style of their music and describing how the signing of theses songwriters to the peermusic catalog would benefit the company. It was one of my final impressions I left behind to not only my supervisor but also the catalog manager, vice president, and president/CEO of peermusic.
At the beginning of this internship, my supervisor set three main goals for my time as an intern; learn how music is acquired to the catalog, learn the process of pitching music, and have an overall understanding of what a music publisher does. In just three months I was able to complete each of those goals through the projects and interactions I experienced at peermusic. I felt that my overall work greatly benefited the company. I put all my effort into perfecting each project and being as efficient as possible with my time. I believe that the high quality of my work made a great impression on my co-workers. The strong relationships that I made at peermusic will greatly benefit me when I begin looking for a job.
My first engineering experience took place at a small foundry. I started with no engineering experience other than what I had received in my first two years of engineering classes at Bradley. Due to the small size of the company, I was given challenging projects to complete. I immediately dove into projects that at the time were above my skill level, but I researched what I had not yet learned and made sure to acquire all the knowledge I could from the managers, foreman, and technicians.
Eight months later I received an opportunity to intern with Caterpillar at their Marine Center of Excellence in Greenville, SC, and to apply the vast amount of knowledge I gained in my first internship. I did not have to think twice. I took their offer and moved 700 miles away from Bradley to work full time as a Manufacturing Engineer for a semester.
It was one of the best decisions I ever made. When I walked into the Marine Center of Excellence, I realized that they had all the design software, testing equipment, and experienced engineers necessary. After what I had accomplished with the limited resources at the foundry, I decided to hold myself accountable to extremely high expectations and goals as this internship had a plethora of resources.
During my internship at Caterpillar, I worked on determining whether an engine Leak Tester could be moved to a new location without creating false positive results due to the effect of temperature change on the air pressure within the engines. After I had experimented and collected data, I was able to determine that the Leak Tester could be moved as long as another quick step was added to the process. By relocating the Leak Tester and adding the new stop to the process, excess inventory was eliminated, excess transportation was decreased, and technician safety was improved. A second major project was organizing the Hot Test area, including the Harness and De-Harness sub areas. This was done in order to create detailed work instructions that included torque values for every connection and re-assembly after testing. Once the detailed work instructions were in place, I was able to propose an optimized process flow for the area.
During my internship, my supervisor informed me that I had proven myself as an engineer. With his reassurance, I am more fully confident that I have the ability, knowledge, and experience to succeed in my engineering career. I am excited to graduate and apply what I have learned through my Bradley education and internship experiences.
Marjorie and Bill Springer Center for Excellence in Internships
With the establishment of the Marjorie and Bill Springer Center for Excellence in Internships in 2008, Bradley University and the Smith Career Center rededicated the commitment to providing students with opportunities for career-related work experience. The Center provides resources to help students secure meaningful work experiences, including internships, cooperative education, and summer or part-time employment. The Center also administers the America Reads Tutoring Program.
We are now accepting applications for the 2013 Internship Fund Award. Please click here or contact Dawn Koeltzow at the Smith Career Center for more information.
Cooperative Education and Internship Program
Part-Time, On and Off Campus Jobs
Outstanding Co-op/Intern of the Year Award
Every year the Marjorie and Bill Springer Center for Excellence in Internships selects five students to receive the Outstanding Co-op/Intern of the Year Award.
Internship Fund Award (IFA)
This competitive award assists selected students with expenses incurred while conducting a summer internship that is either unpaid or provides only a stipend.
Journals from the Road
Journals from the Road showcases the unique experiences of faculty, staff and students as they travel away from Bradley's campus.
America Reads Tutoring Program
Bradley University’s America Reads Tutoring Program hires Bradley students to serve in the community as reading tutors.
