Take it from Tymera: You can get an internship, and you can turn that internship into a job.
Tymera started like any other student; she didn’t know how to get an internship, but she got involved at UCA.
Tymera said, “When I first stepped on campus, I was a naive girl with no idea what life had in store for me. Through every lesson, challenge, and triumph in my collegiate journey, I’ve grown into a stronger, wiser, and more resilient woman.”
Opportunities led to more opportunities. As a freshman, she became a COB Student Ambassador, where she served and grew as a leader. She was elected to SGA for a couple of years and participated in the Minority Mentorship Program and Women of Excellence. In her junior year, she became a student worker for Career Services, and soon, she learned how important internships are. That’s when she practiced interviewing, got connections from her mentors, and scored her internship.
In the summer between her junior and senior years, Tymera served as a Client Experience Intern at Apptegy, a Little Rock-based SaaS company specializing in school-community communication. This company was the perfect blend of her major in marketing and her minor in computer information systems. She was assigned to their Client Success division, where she learned to support more than 2,000 shared client accounts. Her responsibilities included content migration, website design improvements, data accuracy updates, and guiding clients through technical processes.
Using what she had learned in class projects, as a student worker, and as a campus leader, Tymera excelled at Apptegy. Her most significant contribution came when she independently identified a gap in an existing client workflow and took complete ownership of redesigning it. Working on behalf of the client, Tymera led a multiphase project, coordinated team meetings, created instructional recordings and strategically delegated tasks, resulting in restored client trust and improved overall client sentiment. The project drew high praise from Apptegy’s Vice President of Client Experience Ashley Coleman, who described Tymera as “a natural leader” who exemplified initiative, drive and originality.
Tymera credits her growth to Apptegy’s collaborative culture and her mentor and says the experience entirely transformed her professional outlook. She said, “I learned that productivity alone is not enough – true impact comes from connecting with others and building trust.”
Impressed by her performance, Apptegy offered Tymera a full-time position to start upon her graduation.
Before Tymera graduated in May and started her job at Apptegy, she was nominated by COB’s Dr. Tom Snyder and was honored as the UCA Internships and Cooperative Education 2025-26 “Intern of the Year”.
Every major in the UCA College of Business allows and encourages students to pursue internships for academic credit to gain real-world career experiences before graduation. Whether you earn credit for your major or not, you can and should do as many internships as possible. But how does someone find an internship?
TOP 5 WAYS TO LAND AN INTERNSHIP
- Check out UCA Career Services.
They offer you advice, tools, resume review, and many other services that can help you find and get an internship.
Visit their website to look at what they offer, or make an appointment: call 501.450.3250 or email bears4hire@uca.edu. - Join HandShake.
HandShake is a tool like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, or GlassDoor – except you get their Premium account FREE as a student, and you get to keep it after you graduate. After you create your account, HandShake will email you the types of internships and jobs that fit your interests and education, so you don’t have to search for them. - Make sure you have an updated resume.
Career Services will review your resume if you need help.
Here’s a video about Resume Basics to get started. - Attend a Career Fair.
Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, this is the best place to network with employers when they’re looking to hire somebody.
Take copies of your resume to share, and dress for the job you want. Did you know you can get a free interview outfit from UCA each year? - Ask your Professors!
Your business professors and mentors have connections in the business community, and they often know about unlisted jobs.
They can also give you recommendations to help you earn an internship or job.
Take it from Tymera! You can do this.
What’s the worst thing that can happen – hearing “No”?
Try those Top 5 Ways! If you don’t put yourself out there and apply, employers won’t have the opportunity to say “YES” to you.
Final Tip from Tymera’s journey: getting involved and volunteering gives you great things to list on your resume before you have experience at jobs or internships to list.