Podcast Season 5, Episode 6 Transcript
Welcome And Why Internships Matter
Babette Faehmel
Welcome to Many Voices, One Call, Season 5, Episode 6. My name is Babette Faehmel, History Professor and a faculty co-host.
Ashley Lucie Lumbala
And I am Ashley, student co-host of Many Voices One Call. I am a computer science major and an Empire State Service Core intern for civic engagement. Unfortunately, Sion Hardy cannot join us today because she's at her part-time job that actually started as an internship that she had to complete in her childhood development class this semester. And internships are also the topic of this episode.
Babette Faehmel
Internships are widely considered important for student success and job prospects. And for example, the Chancellor of the SUNY system, John B. King, just stated at an internship summit in April that internships "prepare students for the workforce," they "offer real-world experiences in careers that interest them," and they "empower students by preparing them for a path to a successful future."
Meet The Guests And Interns
Ashley Lucie Lumbala
However, access to internship opportunities is limited, and many students are unaware of them. This might explain why only slightly more than 60% of students graduating last year from a SUNY College had completed an internship or a part or a similar program. To learn more about internship opportunities, but also about the barriers some students might face and what SUNY or the State of New York is doing about that. We invited Brandon Aldous, the director of internships and Employer Partnerships at SUNY, and we invited a number of current and former students who either completed an internship or who are currently finishing up.
Madison Webb
Hello, I'm Maddie or Madison. Either one is fine. I'm interning down at the Senate for the media services.
Babette Faehmel
The New York State Senate.
Madison Webb
Yes, New York State.
Babette Faehmel
In Albany? Wow, that sounds very cool.
Jonathan Bridgnanan
I am Jonathan. I am a current intern at Albany International Airport.
Babette Faehmel
Wow. Alright. Um, and how about you, James?
James De La Fuente
I actually interned with WNYT back in 2019, which turned into a full-time job right away, and I'm actually happily successful uh broadcast journalism.
Babette Faehmel
Oh my gosh. Wow, okay, this seems to be true that internships are opening opportunities.
Parmesh Thakoordial
Hello, I'm Parmesh Thakoordial. I'm currently an undergraduate junior at the University of Albany. And throughout my experiences through college and through SUNY Schenectady, I've done, I think, four internships? I've done one at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Summer Health Professions Education Program. And then in 2024, I was selected as the Amgen Scholar. This past summer, in summer 2025, I was a Harvard MIT Early Access to Research Trainee, a part of the Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program at Harvard Medical School through the Leadership Alliance. And then this summer, the summer of 2026, I'm a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow.
Babette Faehmel
Wow, that's very, very, very impressive. And Kyna! Hi Kyna, and by the way, listeners, if the um audio sounds odd, um, some people are joining us on "Teams", um, and others are in the studio. Kyna! Hi! You are you're joining from your car.
Kyna Montgomery
Hi, I'm Kyna Montgomery. Um, I'm currently a student at State Empire. I'm sorry, Empire State. I said that backwards, my apologies. Um, I interned at the State Museum in the archival department, working with data entry and uh compiling all of the research information based on whatever um research items we were working on for each collection. Um I plan on going back. I just might need surgery before I can. I don't want to drop things. So I'm on hiatus at the moment until I'm able to safely handle artifacts. But um it is an amazing opportunity and I definitely recommend.
Babette Faehmel
Wow, all right. Well thanks so much for joining us. Um, and then in addition, we have um SUNY Systems guest SUNY Systems guest Brandon Aldous joining us. Um and we also have two professors who have been working with students and connected them um to internships. So, Brandon, um, would you like could you please introduce yourself?
Brandon Aldous
Sure. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Brandon Aldous. I serve as the Director of Internships and Employer Partnerships in the Office of Workforce Development and Upward Mobility at the State University of New York System Administration. I'm excited to be here.
Babette Faehmel
And what do you, what do you think so far about our students and student interns?
Brandon Aldous
Well, everyone is so impressive. I was taking notes really quickly about everything that all of you have done so far, and I'm so overwhelmingly impressed, and I can't wait to hear your stories.
Babette Faehmel
Neither can I. Thank you so much. Okay, and then we have Lorena Harris.
Lorena Harris
Hi, I'm a CSTEP Professor of Biology. Lorena Harris, also co-PI of CSTEP and co-advisor of PTK.
Babette Faehmel
And Ray Doyle.
Rae Doyle
Hi, I'm Ray Doyle. I am a Professor of Communication in the Liberal Arts Division.
How They Found Their Internships
Babette Faehmel
Fantastic. Wonderful. Alright, so I I'm really interested to hear from the students. How did you first hear about your internship? Um, what interested you in internships, and was that something your professors facilitated, or were you the go-getters who went out and got these opportunities for yourself?
Madison Webb
I got my internship through Professor Doyle actually. She had posted in our Brightspace for - I don't remember which class right now off the top of my head. We've done many classes together at this point. Um and I reached out. They, they did an interview process. I interviewed with probably eight people through Microsoft Teams and did some paperwork before ending up with media services.
Kyna Montgomery
Babette, you were the one who inspired it. Um we kept in contact after I was in your class, which I was really appreciative of. I asked you to be a part of my historical community um because, you know it it's good to know people in your field and people who understand what you're looking for and researching. And so, um, you had contacted me and we were like, hey, are you really interested in this? Yeah, I loved your work and I hope you can find some um inspiration working at the museum. And it turned out to be really inspiring, um, because I walked in there and I was like, this is what I want to do. Um, this is the environment I want to be in. So it was definitely one of the best inspirations from you. So thank you.
Babette Faehmel
As a historian, I don't often get to connect students with internship opportunities, but I was really, really glad that you that you enjoyed the opportunity and that you were interested in museum work. And I think you also worked in a pretty cool collection.
Parmesh Thakoordial
Yes. My internships, I followed in the footsteps of some peers. My first internship I've obtained through Dr. Harris, Dr. Lorena Harris, who was the director of CSTEP at the time, where she shared a large list of programs that I was interested in applying to. I applied and then I ultimately got accepted to the University of California's Los Angeles' Summer Health Professions Education Program. Um, my other internships, I followed in the footsteps of my peers. Uh, my peers from SUNY Schenectady have gone on to do very big and very great things. One of them was an Amgen Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. So then the year following, I decided to I want to put my hat in the ring and apply for the Amgen Scholars program. I ultimately got into numerous different sites, including Johns Hopkins and Yale, which I ultimately chose Yale. Likewise, the Harvard MIT Early Access to Research Training Program. I followed in the footsteps of another friend from SUNY Schenectady who has gone on to do that same program. And then we, um, I shared my application with them. They provided feedback, and the network that I gained from SUNY Schenectady had really allowed me to succeed in these aspects.
Babette Faehmel
Wow, that sounds like amazing opportunities.
James De La Fuente
Um, my internship came through Professor Doyle. It was a uh kind of a last-minute thing. She was real instrumental in being able to push and make the connections happen. So I was very, very happy that SUNY Schenectady had somebody of some intelligence there, was able to connect these points together for me. And as soon as we connected with WNYT, I slotted right in, and that process became, as you all now know, I'm actually an on-air personality, so it happened only because of that internship.
Babette Faehmel
Wow. Okay, I'm getting I'm having some like, I don't know, local pride in my college here. Uh Jonathan, how about you?
Jonathan Bridgnanan
All right, so uh I got my internship through uh Barbara Jones, who is the aviation director of SUNY Schenectady. And the re the reason why I got into this internship was because I needed an aviation elective, and this was one of the choices that was the part of the elective. So I decided to roll with it, and it's kind of cool just to see planes land, take off, and all sorts of other things passengers can't see in an airport.
Daily Work And Real Challenges
Babette Faehmel
Okay. Do they want to hear that about uh what they can't see? I I'm just wondering. I have I have a flight lined up in a in a month or so.
Ashley Lucie Lumbala
So I'd like to know about all your internships, but I'd like to know like what's the best and most challenging or frustrating thing about these internships you do. Okay, so we can start with Maddie.
Madison Webb
I don't want to like speak out of turn, so I kind of just wait for somebody to cue me in. But I wouldn't say that my office is particularly challenging just because there's so many people there that are so like educated in their own field and they all work really well as a team. Honestly, sometimes I forget that I'm even working there because they just they're so friendly and they work so well. Um so there's really not that many challenges. I kind of just help where they need me to help, and they've been really good in helping me learn as much as possible in the short time frame that we have. So it's just been really cool to like watch everything and set everything up, besides, you know, the standard issues you run into when you're in a public building with you know people and passers-by and making sure that you're like your equipment is good, you're not running into anybody.
Babette Faehmel
So, what exactly are your duties as an as an intern in the New York State Senate?
Madison Webb
So I work with media services, so we work mostly with session is the biggest one, but we also do press conferences, we do podcasts, and we do like when a senator wants to put out a personal video to like their constituents, we do that too. So I've helped set up for press conferences with like audio, so we have almost kind of like what we have in here. I set up mics and I plug them into the molt box and I do mic checks, and I also white balance the camera and we make sure all of that's good. The seal is centered on the podium so that when the senator comes for the press conference, they can just go and it's all good. Um, I help take all that stuff down, wrap stuff up, put stuff away, transport the camera and the cart. For podcasts, it's a little bit different because we have an actual studio kind of like this one where we have the table and we have the mics all set up and the cameras all set up. So it's really just like centering everything, double checking the mics and making sure both guests are in framed. And then we run them through how we do that. We edit those. So I've done some editing stuff for press conferences as well as for podcasts, so like certain parts that they decide they don't want in, or like um, we cut clips for senators as well for sessions, so when they speak up and they speak on a bill, that clip gets cut into a personal clip so that they can post it on their Instagram or wherever they want to put it. We besides clips, we don't do much for a session besides the actual live streaming part of session so people can watch it. I've done some budget hearings, which I do a thing called directing. I directed one for I think like an hour, which is pretty much just controlling like which camera they see when they're watching it. So that's always interesting. You have to pay pretty close attention for that as well.
Babette Faehmel
Wow, that's a lot. Sounds all very cool. Uh James, you are you are another media person. Um was that similar to what you were experiencing?
James De La Fuente
Uh no, she's actually lucked out having a Senate internship. They're very organized there, they're very instrumental and very uh planned. Where I came from is not that. It's very opposite, it's very uh get it done as you can and hopefully everything worked out at the end of the day. Uh but the internship factor of it all is very challenging. When you get into um an internship, I found that most of the time that um employer, that company, that whoever's in charge of that internship, they're really hoping that you're gonna show up and show out and just do your most. Uh what I learned is that we observe for wallflowers. And if you want to just do a wallflower thing and watch how things happen, and that's how you observe and found out an idea, they were more in turn or more in uh they wanted to see you actually do something. So if you were able to thrive and make something happen, ask questions, push outside of the bubble and show interest, they were more willing to work with you. So the biggest challenge I found for some of the interns were the ones that just sat there and were like, oh, that's what they do. Maybe one day I can go out with this person. Oh, maybe one day I can do that. But if you didn't show the initiative and you didn't ask and you didn't push for it, you didn't get it. And so that internship really gives you an opportunity to show them who you are and what you're made of. And if you don't, you showed them exactly what they didn't want to see. You didn't put much into it. So the challenges of the interns are there's no real guidance. They're expecting and they're hoping for you to make that path visible to them of what you're doing.
Babette Faehmel
Okay, okay. Um, Parmesh, would you say it's similar in the high competitive feel like science?
Parmesh Thakoordial
For me, in my instance, the scientific research programs that I've applied to are extremely competitive. For the Amgen Scholars program specifically, there are over 800 applicants per school, and the Amgen Scholars Foundation funds 10 students per school. So I came from a large pool of highly extraordinary students. So, in order to stand out and show out in the best way possible, you have to be extroverted in the sense that we only have 10 weeks at these labs. So you have to put yourself out there the most to get the greatest return on your investment. You also want to show high, um, high independence per se, because you want to show that you're able to take in the knowledge that you're gaining from that lab and apply it logically to create ultimately an end project that you're able to present, generate data that would be useful for the scientific community, and then also reflect very well on your PI because sometimes you'd like a job after these internships, and these PIs can give you those jobs. So you want to show that you're able to think independently, thoughtfully, integrate within that lab environment, but also have great research output to show that you're an asset to a team as well.
Babette Faehmel
Kyna, would you say it was similar to you for you for the museum world?
Kyna Montgomery
So for me, I feel like we all were introverts in the history department. So we're all super happy to talk about our field. We're all super happy to give information, but we're also super happy to let us all go to our own corner and do our work. So for me, the challenge was me, and being a mom, and sharing a car with my husband, and getting there, and and time more than... Because, I would have spent every day there. I I loved it there. And I again I'm happy to go back as soon as I can. But yeah, no, uh for me, I was just trying to get information. I was like, how did you get into your field? And and how do you feel about where it is now? And and I would ask about, you know, how do you feel about technology in your field now? Because that's morphing libraries and museums and all these things. So, you know, obviously I would talk about the the curation that we're doing and the conservation that we're doing, but I also was like, hey, what's going on now and what projects are you working on? And and what part of your job also entails writing papers and in certain studies? Because um, everybody that I worked with and talked to, no matter what department, they weren't just working on their own stuff, they were also working on you know projects and things like that. So I made a point to always pick everybody's brain because they're where I want to be. So I'm like, what is happening? What's new in the historic historical world? And you know, we talked about the the ship that they found, and, you know, all the things that are happening. I'll not get too into that yet, but you know, that was what I found. It it was all exciting, and again, we're all introverts, so it was perfect. Like m most of my hours were spent by myself at a computer unless I was picking somebody's brain. Oh, yeah. So for me, my challenge was my schedule, my own stuff, you know, getting to Albany in a shared car after I dropped off my son. So really it was it was beautiful though. And like I sat there with other people who were either volunteers or interns, and we were in a clean room. So again, it was quiet.
Babette Faehmel
Yeah. Well, it sounds like there's an internship for every personality type. Jonathan, where would you say aviation ranks? Are you more on the introvert side or the extrovert side? Are you have you been a go-getter to get your internship? Or what what does it look like from your perspective?
Jonathan Bridgnanan
Well, I'm a very it's it's it's like when I'm tired, I'm like introverted, so I barely don't want to talk. But once you get to know what's going on in the airport, then yes, you could throw some ideas. It's like it's like what Parm..., uh, I forgot how to say his name, Parmesh and Ke... how you pronounce that name? I'm sorry.
Babette Faehmel
Kyna?
Jonathan Bridgnanan
Kyna?
Kyna Montgomery
Kyna.
Jonathan Bridgnanan
Kyna. Yeah, it's it's somewhat like that, right? You have the it's timekeeping. And also I I work full-time too, so it's kind of hard, you know, just to balance your personal life and you know, do this internship, still go to college and you're still doing full-time. It's a lot to handle, but it's it's the main idea here is to timekeep and keep track of what you're doing here.
Barriers That Keep Students Out
Babette Faehmel
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I mean, I'm almost almost envious. So like I just want to go back now to school and just try out what else is out there. Um, but um, Brandon and also the professors, Lorena and Ray: a lot of students, I mean, okay, so 60%, around 60% of students who are graduating from SUNY, at least last year, took advantage of an internship, but that still leaves about 40% of students who are not in any kind of internships. What would you say, you, both of you and also Brandon, what are some of the obstacles or barriers, or what might students not know about how like cool these opportunities are? Brandon, do you want to go first?
Brandon Aldous
Sure. So I think sometimes the barriers are just recognizing that there is an internship opportunity for everyone, and you can follow your passions and you can find the thing that brings you joy. And I think that sometimes we sort of limit ourselves to the thing that we do and don't think beyond that. So I know a lot of culinary students who want an internship with the really fancy restaurants in Albany, right? But we don't think about everywhere else where those culinary skills can come into play. We've got hospitals that are major employers, and all of those hospitals have head chefs and culinary teams. And so sometimes I think it's thinking through exactly what we want to do and how we could gain that experience. Um, and maybe not the way that we would have traditionally thought about it. Um, I think that finding your people is really important. So having those mentors on campus, whether it is faculty or career advisors or academic advisors that help and push us and guide us to find those opportunities and apply for them and stretch our limits a little bit, and then encourage us to show up. As James was saying, people are looking for you to show up and show out, and so you just need that push to really go in and get it done. And so I think that finding your people, building the right opportunity and the right situation that works for you and allows you to hone your skill set while also advancing your own professional and personal growth is really important. But sometimes we just need the guiding light to find those opportunities.
Babette Faehmel
And um the professors, Lorena, Professor Harris, Professor Doyle, what would you say?
Rae Doyle
Um, I would say one of the challenges is for some students, if it is not a paid internship, it makes it really difficult for them to make the choice to do that because of already working jobs. Um, and I another challenge that I've run across with my students is um there can be some internships are only during the summer, some are only during the spring, and so if you don't hit the timing right, um it can be difficult to actually get an internship within the communication field in this area. So I need to do some more exploring to see if there are other partnerships that I can make to help my students.
Babette Faehmel
So you mean you you personally um would have to do the exploring or would want to do the exploring?
Rae Doyle
I would want to. Yeah. And because for example, with um Maddie's internship, they the New York State legislature actually contacted me because I've had several students before her and they were looking for more interns because my students have done a really great job. And so if I can create more partnerships like that, it would open up opportunities for my students more regularly, too.
Babette Faehmel
Yeah, yeah. So Brandon, I'm just wondering is um is SUNY um can can SUNY assist there and kind of like connecting professors with internships, internship pipelines so that this doesn't have to depend on, like, individual people with with a high course load.
Brandon Aldous
Absolutely. We are always more than willing to help make those connections, especially with a quick outreach. If you have a student who's looking for a specific situation, we are more than willing to help bridge the gap. We are also fortunate that in the last three months, we've also hired a team of five regional internship coordinators across the state. And so those regional internship coordinators are really standing on the bridge between business and industry and academics and helping to build those situations, those experiences for our students. As the chancellor has noted in numerous speaking opportunities, he has set the very ambitious goal that 100% of undergraduate students participate in a paid internship or other high-impact practice by the time that they graduate. And so as we work with our students to get towards those opportunities, SUNY has invested in cultivating a network and support system across the state to help students get into those experiences. Usually we tend to work with the career services offices on our campuses just because there are faculty everywhere, right? But we are always more than willing to connect with our faculty partners to help build those opportunities.
Babette Faehmel
And you said those coordinators were hired in the last couple of months?
Brandon Aldous
Yes, yep. So in the last three or four months, they all started right around the holidays and have sort of trickled in after, and we are just getting fully staffed. So by hopefully next week, we will have all five in place from Buffalo to Utica to Yonkers, New York City, and Long Island. And then I have the luxury of covering the rest of the state.
Babette Faehmel
And are those coordinators going to be responsible for the four-year institutions, or will there also be coordinators for the community colleges?
Brandon Aldous
So they are responsible for supporting all 64 of our campuses across the state. They do have their regional footprint that they focus on, but one of the things that we know happens is that students enroll in a college not necessarily where their hometown is. And so really wanting to ensure that we're connecting students to the breadth and depth of opportunities available to them in terms of internships, especially knowing that some of our students are in one community during the academic year and then go home to a different community for the summer and winter terms. And so really trying to connect students to those opportunities across the board. Primarily, our uh regional internship coordinators are working very heavily with community colleges to try to lend a hand and provide that level of support to our community colleges that typically have some of the smaller staffs and career services.
Babette Faehmel
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Thank you so much for that. Um, you will probably hear from us very soon.
Brandon Aldous
I would love to.
Babette Faehmel
Professor Harris, um, what do you see as one of the challenges to um get students to either connect them with internships or also to like have students realize that there's more to college than just passing all their classes with A's or A-minus.
Lorena Harris
Well, aside from the challenging if it's a paid or non-paid internship, I think it's the writing the application and reading it carefully and kind of like crossing all the dots and the lines because once they do uh really understand how to write their essay, yes, and how to gear find that person, that network that will help them do so. I think there is some the sky's the limit, yes, in my opinion. I think that uh some programs like CSTEP or LSAMP have tools that help the students in science to really go through the process of how to read carefully those applications. And and there are many, many of these schools, even inside of the school you can find an internship, yes, sometimes. So um in and depending on the zone where you are, like if you I remember one of the first internships we had a student in computer science who went to Brookheaven National Laboratory and for a mini internship in the winter time, and he was inspired, he was an associate student, and he was inspired to continue to get his bachelor. Once he had the other mindset of I don't want to continue to I just want to get my associate and get my degree and find a job. He ended up getting his bachelor and finding a good job, and he's you know excited and happy to continue learning, which is what sometimes those institutions like Brookheaven National Laboratory can inspire in you once you see all these amazing professionals, professors, techs working on it. And just reading careful carefully those applications and you um working together with your network and with you know the resources around you. Which sometimes for some scientists or uh you know, uh student in a STEM who is introverted might be hard because you have to come out of that shell and ask questions and write about yourself.
Ashley Lucie Lumbala
That's true. That is true. Um you talked you talked about the statistics. You said only 60% of students that graduated from so many schools um had joint internships. I also think that it's a problem with um like just like you said, just that some students being introverts and not asking questions. I think some people might have the initiative in them to maybe do an internship, but they just don't know well, I, I think they know where to go because we have career and transfer services, but they don't have um the strength to do it. But uh professors like Professor Doyle, Babette, uh Dr. Lorena Harris is also one of my professors, and she's always telling us about these um internships and everything. I think that if there's already a relationship from a student and professor, they that could also be something that could help other students that are not too um that are not too extroverted to know about these opportunities. Yeah.
Babette Faehmel
I think sometimes it's also about having students realize that we we are not just there to like give them exams and like I don't know, lecture and grade them, but that we are professional, I I don't want to say call I mean not colleagues, but potential colleagues, but that we are that we are people who are there to support them while they are discovering their professional identity or their goals, and that we are not just like these, I don't know, um anonymous people that you can't talk to who are standing in front of the classroom and um as soon as uh as soon as the class is over, the students are out of the door. James, you seem to have um uh a view on that.
James De La Fuente
I I do want to interject a little bit there. I think the biggest challenge to that becomes like not even knowing that the internship exists. If I didn't have Professor Doyle present me with like, hey, this opportunity is here and you know we should probably get on it. I had no idea what was what, where to look, when to look, how to look. So if I didn't have that professor teach me or show me, I I would have been blind and just went on with like getting my degree and moving on and just go to apply, and hopefully something happened. So I think there needs to be a bigger awareness, there needs to be a bigger program, more something that I can, we're in an age of digital awareness, like I can just click on anything, I can AI whatever I want, but for me to go find an internship and to link into it, it doesn't seem like it's that easy. And if again, like I said, if I didn't have Rae tell me this was available, I would have had no ideas. So I think that to bring this to a more centralized um way of doing it, to where I can be as a student and just click a link and say, like, hey, internships are available. Look, this is applying for you. These are available here, here, and here. If we had that access to something like that, I would have searched that out. I would have hunted down what I had available, and I wouldn't have had that glorious moment, that miracle that Ray gave me, and said, like, hey, look at this, let's try here. Again, that would have not have happened if I didn't have the professor. So there's got to be a way to connect that for the student to have that access more than relying on a professor who has that knowledge.
Babette Faehmel
That's such a good comment. Kyna, you you raised your hand.
Kyna Montgomery
I did. So I agree with James, definitely. I do think that um accessibility to resources would be good, and but also knowing that our professors are trustworthy and there's there's a break in that boundary of maybe professionalism, you know, um branch out in kindness and friendship, you know. It's if it's your career, it's worth fighting for. But I also wanted to mention about the introverted versus introvert extroverted, you know, as an introvert, I want to give hope to other introverts. It is okay to reach out and go and be in an internship and find your thing. You know, um if you're going somewhere you're passionate about, they're your peers, just as much as you know, someone to look up to. They're in the field as much as you are. So if you're an introvert and you're in a field that's for introverts, reach out. It's okay to ask questions and do more. If you're passionate about it, that introver or introvertedness shouldn't matter. You know, you're you're asking questions about something you love. You know, so you know, like James said about his, you gotta jump in there. It it's jumping in there in a field that's for you, so that's okay. You know, it's it's not outside of your comfort zone. Does that make sense?
Babette Faehmel
That makes perfect sense. Absolutely.
James De La Fuente
It should be outside of your comfort zone, unfortunately. I think that's where you feel the most learning when you step outside of that. And I'm a very shy person, I'm not normally public, I'm not that person.
Kyna Montgomery
Yeah, I don't disagree that it's outside your comfort zone, but just kind of get comfortable in a new place, I guess, is my point. You know, you know, like embrace the unknown. Embrace the unknown to find you, you know?
Paid Internships And Student Support
Ashley Lucie Lumbala
Okay, I wanted to talk about, um, the point... One of you said, um, I think Kyna said no, it was a contradiction, um, about how it should be outside of your comfort zone. Yeah, I do think that you should try something that's outside of my your comfort zone. I'm a computer science major and um I'm more of the you know, science and everything, but I'm doing a civic engagement internship, and that really opened my eyes to a lot of things. It made me I I met a lot of new people. I I think I I I I had to learn how to civically engage with people that you sometimes do agree, but sometimes you agree to disagree with, and that was a very important thing for me. I like I was like, oh, I I love this internship. I think I started in the fall of 2025, and I'm coming to the end soon. But the internship was really good for me, it was outside of my comfort zone, and now I'm more comfortable speaking with people. Um, even if I don't know you, because I'm one of I'm I'm not introverted, but I'm I have a very uh reserved personality. Like if you don't talk to me, I won't speak to you. And uh um now it's it's it has changed because of this internship. So not only did I grow and then and find out about a lot of things that are going on, but I also grew personally on the inside. So I think it's a very important thing that you also do something that challenges you. Um I wanted to talk about um uh paid internships and unpaid internships because students usually go for uh paid internships, obviously. We're looking for paid internships. I wanted to know from maybe from the professors and ones that some of you who got a job from your internships, how competitive is it to get a paid internship?
Brandon Aldous
So we are seeing more and more opportunities for paid internships. The National Association of Colleges and Employers has put a lot of effort behind a campaign called Unpaid is Unfair and really pushing for internships to be paid. Um, the New York State Department of Labor has come out with very, very strict guidelines that make it very difficult for for-profit agencies to still offer unpaid internships. There's an entire checklist of 11 different items that an entity has to be able to check before they can offer an unpaid internship as a for-profit agency. It essentially comes down to the fact that the intern can't provide anything of value to the business, which is opposite of the point of having an internship. So here in New York, we're very fortunate that within for-profit businesses, um, the New York State Department of Labor has come out with those very strict guidelines on what paid versus unpaid internships can look like. That doesn't mean that all internships are paid. So our nonprofit agencies as well as our government agencies can still offer unpaid internships, but we're starting to see more of stipend-based programs so that students are off are at least offered something for completing work. And then SUNY has sort of implemented um a few different streams to support students on internships. And so we're fortunate to be um supported by the New York State Governor on expanding our internship work and access to internships. And so many of our campuses are actually able to at least provide stipend to students who would go out on traditionally unpaid internships, along with other wraparound supports, including uh support for transportation, childcare, housing, etc. So that continues to be part of the New York State uh budget, and so we're very fortunate that we continue to be able to expand access. But you're not wrong, definitely, especially if you look outside of New York State, you may see a lot of unpaid internships or a lot of unpaid internships within for-profit agencies. Uh, but we are working to continue to expand paid opportunities for our students through the resources that we have access to.
Babette Faehmel
Um, I'm amazed, and I I really hope that this will continue because what you just said about wraparound services for transportation and childcare. I mean, Kyna, that that sounds like heaven, right? I mean, that there was you mentioned that earlier as one of the challenges in getting um two-year internship, like childcare and transportation. I bet that's that that is actually, especially for community college students, a big barrier, right? Um, but apparently there there are now funds for this and they are going to hopefully continue. Okay, fingers crossed.
Brandon Aldous
Fingers crossed, as soon as we see a New York State budget approved.
Babette Faehmel
Ah, okay, okay. Maddie, any insights behind the scene on how that's going as the New York State Senate intern?
Madison Webb
They keep extending.
Social Capital And Hiring Reality
Babette Faehmel
Okay. Um Brandon, what would you say are other um mis myth maybe, misinformation, misunderstandings about internships aside from the competitive nature of them? What what other issues are maybe um around, especially for first generation students? Um I was a first generation student, and honestly, um a lot of things that they did in college was kind of um weird to me, and um I didn't quite understand the culture all that much. Um would you say that there's also in SUNY like um a consciousness of what especially first generation students or students who are parenting, um what what they might need, what they might need in order to be able to access an internship?
Brandon Aldous
Absolutely. So, as part of my role at System Administration, I actually came from several different campuses. I started my career at SUNY Cobleskill and then was at Empire State University. Um, Empire State University's student population is primarily non-traditional students, meaning we had a lot of students who were working full-time, parenting full-time, and trying to go back to college to further themselves in their career. I also was at SUNY Adirondack Community College, which community colleges have a different student population and students who are looking for different experiences. And so I think one of the largest uh misconceptions or or uh misappropriation of opportunity within internships is the opportunity to build your social capital. And so, what I mean by social capital is who do we have in our network? Who are the people we can pick up the phone and call when we're looking for an opportunity or to bounce ideas off of, or if we're looking for our next job. Um, that opportunity to build social capital is so important. I was actually a first-generation college student. I grew up on a 150-acre beef farm in upstate New York. My parents dropped me off at college four hours away and didn't see me again until graduation. So I really had the opportunity to dive in headfirst and figure it out. Um, but I did an internship, and that internship landed me my first job in higher education, which allowed me to totally pivot on what I had gone to college for versus what I ended up getting my future degrees in and the career that I have now. And so I think there is so much value in taking advantage of not only the internship opportunity for what it is and what you'll be able to put on your resume, but that expanded social capital and really having access to a network. I went to college four hours away where I knew no one and there was no one I could call. If I got a flat tire, I was calling AAA and hoping for the best, right? I didn't have that type of network. Um, but I think the opportunity to build that through internships and start building your professional portfolio of who you can connect with because everyone knows someone, right? And so what does that look like and how do you gain that? Um, as a college student, as someone without a ton of experience on their resume, I think that internships are a phenomenal way to not only, like I said, gain the skill set and learn what they say you're going to learn through it, but just to start building that social capital and having that network of people.
Babette Faehmel
Yeah. Um, what would you say is is more important in the end, the internship experience that you can put on your resume or your your GP, what is it, GPA?
Brandon Aldous
Oh, see, I work for SUNY. I'm not sure I'm allowed to answer that. Okay, okay. So I think I think it's an and both, right? And I think I think there needs to be a level of opportunity there where you need to balance what those two things look like. Because at the end of the day, being able to have a resume that's built out against a GPA shows things like time management, critical thinking. Just being able to have a decent GPA alongside whatever commitments you've had through college shows what that skill attainment should be. Um, I did not have a great GPA my first year of college. I had a whole lot to learn about time management and critical thinking. And so I think that by the time you're looking at what your resume is at the end of your four years or two years or whatever your college um plan looks like, being able to balance the two, I think, is what's important.
Babette Faehmel
Okay, all right. Kyna, you have your hand up.
Brandon Aldous
That was my most politically correct answer, by the way. Sounded good.
Kyna Montgomery
No, I think he's 100% correct because it's uh learning experience versus work experience. You have like the real life experience in the field, and then you have the experience of the knowledge base that backs it up, and you kinda need both. You know, um it's also good to know what the environment is gonna be like for something that you're interested in. You know, that's how you find out if it's really for you rather than going through all the school trying to jump right in and having to be completely unfamiliar and you're like, Oh, I hate this. You know, um, I think it's a good way of being like, what if I showed up and I was like, Oh, I'm in the archival department, but I wish I was in geology, or whatever, you don't know. It's all still in the historical field, but you you don't know, and you won't know unless you try it out. You won't know unless you, you know, invest time in it. But as well, like you said, it's about balance and learning those skills. So you're learning those skills practically as well as um impractically, I guess, is a way to put it. Yeah. I think James wants to say something too.
James De La Fuente
Well, I kind of like what Brandon was saying, where you got dropped off from the farm and at the college, and that was it. Um, I was I was curious to know, like, as the internship program and process is happening, how much of your social feedback was positive? I know that a lot of my social circle and my family was kind of like, that's an internship. Don't expect much out of it, don't do this. I went into it, like, I don't know if I had the dream or it's because I'm just a crazy person, but it's like, if this internship turns into a job, oh my God, I'm set, this is great. It turned into the job. So, out of all that negativity that was surrounding me, I still had to, you know, push forward and prove these people like, yeah, the internship does make a difference. It can make a difference. It did make a difference. So I'm wondering how much of that is also a challenge for people trying to get into that internship hunt because that was a problem for me, was that let down all around me.
Brandon Aldous
So I I I was in a very similar situation, James, and so my internship did turn into the job, and it shouldn't have. Like, I I was not teeing myself up. I I did my internship at the college that I attended for my undergrad, and typically them hiring you on full-time after right after graduating just doesn't happen. Um, I worked so hard through that internship to make it known that I wanted to work there. Whenever I was doing anything as part of my internship, I was posting on social media with hashtag can I work here please, right? And so really making it known that that's where I wanted to be. But beyond that, I never expected that because it wasn't the true trajectory of the internship path that I was enrolled in, which is okay. We want students to gain their skills and be able to, you know, build their social uh their social network and and that sort of thing. It doesn't always lead to a job, and we know that. That's why I'm so keen on the social capital aspect of it. If you can really show yourself and and show what you are able to do, the likelihood of your manager knowing someone who is hiring in a similar focus area that you've studied in or done your internship in is relatively high. And if you've done really well for them and they just don't have the opportunity right now to bring you on full-time, the likelihood that they know someone who can is relatively high. And so that's why I'm so keen on building your social capital and really proving yourself through that internship because even if the ultimate job is not there in the end, the connections you now have to get a job are much better. We also know that 60% of employers prefer a candidate with some level of internship experience on their resume. And so, Babette, earlier you had asked. You know, what's more important, the GPA or the internship, and I was responding with and both. We know that 60% of employers are looking for that experience on a graduating student's resume. And so, how do we offer those quality experiences, knowing that not all of them will end in a job, but we're allowing them to build that social capital where they know someone who will know someone, and I think that that is really an important component of this is empowering students to not only build their resume but build their social circles as well.
Babette Faehmel
That makes sense. So at SCCC, we have some flagship internship programs, especially in the Culinary Arts. Um we have the Disney program, we have the Kentucky Derby and all these kinds of things. Would you say, would you say that there are um fields, disciplines, um programs where faculty and Deans might need to have more knowledge about what internship opportunities are out there that maybe are not yet quite realizing how important these opportunities are.
Brandon Aldous
So we know that a lot of our hands-on uh programs offer very robust internships, you know, just like you said with culinary. I think the important thing to remember is that across our system and across our business and industry partners, really any experience or any major field can be turned into a quality internship experience. We just need the students to know that it's an option. And so when the students know that it's an option, exactly like James said before, he would have never known to seek that opportunity had a faculty not come up to him and handed it to him, right? And so we really need students to know that regardless of your major field of study, internships are an opportunity for you. And we want students to try new things. We want students to have experiences that show them exactly what they want to do for the rest of their life, but we also want them to have experiences that show them exactly what they don't want to do for the rest of their lives. Going through an internship and learning that this is not what you want to do forever is as successful as you determining that this is your long-term career path, right? If you can learn that through an internship, by all means, I am here to support you and back you through it. And so I think that regardless of major field industry, we just want students and faculty and staff and supporters to know that internships are a real experience and we're here to help build those experiences. We just need students to to want to do them and we'll help them get there.
Advice That Actually Gets Results
Babette Faehmel
Yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay. Um, so for Kyna, and Parmesh, and and James, and Maddie, um, if you had advice do you have advice for like your peers, your fellow students, or for students who are just starting out on what they should be looking out for and consider outside of the classroom? Parmesh?
Parmesh Thakoordial
I could go first, yeah. So I feel like foundational for me, a foundation for me was my prior research experience. While the things that I did at SUNY Schenectady through my high school research was not the same as what I want to do in the future. It showed people that I can think like a scientist, that I understood the foundational principles of science, of biology, and then through my coursework I was able to show that I did have that foundation and it was set. Additionally, I think what was most important was just applying. I've been told no numerous times through numerous different research programs. I was told no through the programs that I actually got into the year prior, and I continue to apply even though I was rejected before. I would say don't take the rejection too hard and just continue to apply yourself because you don't know what happens if the person says yes. Like if I didn't apply for those programs, I wouldn't have gotten into them. So I think the best thing that I can say is just apply. Even if you're not too confident in your application, there are people and faculty that believe in you and that will root for you, and just like ground yourself in that essence itself.
Babette Faehmel
Yeah, that's that sounds great. Kyna and James?
Kyna Montgomery
Um, yeah, I mine would be always ask questions.
Babette Faehmel
Yeah.
Kyna Montgomery
Talk to your peers, talk to your professors, um, talk to administration, go to history, like for me, because I'm in the history department, but um go to the historical societies, go to libraries, go where there's information. So for my thing, it was go where there's research and see what you're doing, what other people are doing in the community, see if there's projects, because they're not always posted, but people are always working for the community. So, you know, so in my field, ask the questions. I mean everybody's field, ask the questions, but in my field, I went to the places, you know, and I talked to people. And I had um people in my um "Genocide and Ethnic Conflicts" class last year. Um, we talked about, hey, we're all gonna go to the Historical Science Society and see what's up in different, you know, you know, states, I'm sorry, not states, cities. Because you know, there's there's multiple museums that are working on all kinds of restoration products. So ask questions. You like we've been talking about utilizing our community, and that's really important. So building that social rapport with your people, you know, will help that, you know. So that's my suggestion is keep asking questions.
Babette Faehmel
I love that. Ask questions. Perfect. Absolutely.
James De La Fuente
Uh absolutely. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, the more attention you can get, the more better off it's gonna be. Ask those questions. I feel that going into an internship, you need to go into it with the biggest of open minds that you can because it's a new experience and it's gonna open doors and it's gonna show you anything and everything you never thought was even there. So go in with an open mind, but also go into it hungry. Go into it wanting to learn something, go in and go into it wanting to show them that you're interested in it. So go hungry, go open-minded, and just do your best, and whatever you do is gonna be prevailing for you.
Babette Faehmel
Thank you. And Maddie, what would you say?
Madison Webb
Um, I would say to always not only have faith in your own abilities, but also just keep dedication towards everything you do. Like the internship has been a beautiful opportunity, but I really feel like this started more in high school for me, where whenever an opportunity was presented to me, I just said yes. I always want to be able to learn something, even if it's not something in my field. And I think the more well-rounded you are, the more you can apply skills to different things. I feel like a lot of students, when they go to school, they go in the mindset of this is what I'm going to be doing, and it's just this. But I feel like if you do more stuff as you're in school or even before you get into school or before you take an internship, you're more likely to understand, okay, I'm good at this and I'm good at this, and these are the skills I need to work on, and you can put that more into what you want to do. So I never saw myself, you know, being at the Senate or doing media work. Like, of course, I wanted to because I'm a communications major, but um, a lot of communications internships, as you heard from James, is mostly like you're just here, you can't really touch stuff. There's a lot of like regulations, so it's really just understanding that, but also understanding the people you're working with. Like, I tried a lot in high school, but even just friends at college can really help you build that community in order to be able to continue. Because I really feel like with all the personal struggles I've dealt with during school, that having a community on campus and programs like EOP or Trio that you know you can go to and that you have friends in are always going to be helpful in keeping you grounded and on track. Because if you're all over the place, it's a lot harder to have faith that you're going to get where you're like you're going to get to graduation or you're going to get an internship because it feels like everything is everywhere when you're in college, especially if you're working. And I would say that too, to have a good connection with whoever you work with at work. Like, even just my boss has been very understanding of stuff I have going on, and they were very helpful in this process too, because I got promoted at my job a month in. Um, I'm a closing supervisor now, and I really think a lot of that comes from communication, but also just dedication of showing up to work on time and showing that I'm interested in being able to do these things because a lot of people our age see a part-time job as just a part-time job. But if you have the dedication of showing up to class on time and communicating with your professors and communicating with these bosses and all these people that you work with, it's more likely that they're going to be understanding and lenient and help you find these pathways that you can get to where you want to be.
Where To Search And Who To Ask
Babette Faehmel
Yeah, absolutely. Soft skills, like really well, definitely very important, these soft skills and kind of like communication skills, especially like in the post-COVID era where um well they are they are kind of rare, increasingly rare from what we see in the classroom. Um, Brandon, um for students thinking about internships, um, what what are places to look for? Where on the area are there any digital sources that they should consult? I believe you have a LinkedIn page.
Brandon Aldous
Yes. So the SUNY Internships and Employer Partnerships and Workforce Development does have a LinkedIn page where we are constantly posting resources for students and our staffs on our campuses. I also encourage every student to check out your career services office. Those offices have so many services to provide students, including resume review, how to build out your LinkedIn profile, uh, where to search for jobs and internships, whatever platform your campus uses, they can connect you with it. So definitely check out the Career Services office and then connect with your faculty. Let them know you're interested in doing an internship, right? Let them know that you're interested in these extra uh opportunities and see what connections they have. Don't forget that the world is really, really big, but our worlds are pretty small. And the people that we know in our networks and the things that we have access to, the people and companies that we have access to, we could probably build a connection for everyone. We just have to know who's interested and what type of opportunity you're looking for.
Thanks Credits And Sign Off
Babette Faehmel
Awesome. That sounds like the perfect last word! So um, yeah, thanks you, thank you so much for coming out and telling us about all your cool internships and supporting our students and the next generation of interns. Um, so Maddie, Ray, Lorena, Ashley, um, Brandon, James, Parmesh, and Kyna, thank you so much. We lost Jonathan at some point during uh the recording. I hope there's no big emergency on the um at the Albany Airport, but it's always possible. Um Many Voices One Call is made possible thanks to the contribution of the SUNY Schenectady Foundation. We are especially grateful for the School of Music and in particular Sten Isachsen and his music students, continuing generous support for the technical details. Heather Meaney, Karen Tansky, and Jessica McHugh Green deserve credit for promoting the podcast. Thanks also goes to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the College President, the Student Government Association, and the Student Activities Advisor. Stay tuned for more episodes like this where you get your podcast.