Today on the blog we want to explore a vital part of our team at the Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) – our interns. Every fall, spring, and summer we search for the best and brightest minds to join our team for a few short months. We believe internships are extremely important to the success of students on campus. Our internship program’s goal is to equip students with the skills, tools, and experience they need to be successful when the leave the University of Central Arkansas.
CCED interns work on various community and economic development projects, as well as the annual Community Development Institute (CDI). Responsibilities include research assistance, marketing assistance, database management, and clerical support. An abundance of professional development and networking opportunities are made available to our interns. Desired candidates will have strong written and oral communication skills and be able to operate appropriately in a professional work environment. Ability to complete work by prescribed deadlines and attention to detail are important. We prefer students that have a background in Public Administration, Political Science, Geography, Communications, Graphic Design, or Business, but it is not required that the student have those particular backgrounds.
Interns gain professional office experience, learn about the field of community and economic development, and have access to various networking opportunities with Arkansas leaders as well as many others from all across the United States.
Our latest intern for summer 2015 is Sarah Burns. Since we don’t know Sarah as well as she knows herself, we asked her to write a blurb about herself and what she has learned thus far as our intern:
“Hi there! My name is Sarah Burns and I am the newest member of the CCED team! I will be interning this summer and will be helping to plan CDI. I am a senior at UCA and will be
graduating in December 2015. My major is public relations and I am minoring in marketing. I am from Rogers, AR but gladly calling Conway home for the summer.
Just a couple of weeks into this internship I can already identify areas that I am growing and learning in. So far I have learned about event planning and that it is all in the details. Budgeting is key, if you can ask for a bargain or find it for a deal the happier everyone will be! I have also learned that communication takes patience and not every result will come as quickly as you would like.
This summer will be a time to put the skills that I have been working on in the classroom to use, and I am delighted to have an amazing staff to learn from.”
As Sarah spends more time with all of us at CCED, be sure to check our blog periodically for her most updated reports! If you are interested in our internship opportunities or know of a student at UCA who would be, please contact us.