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Bolton and his colleagues in the Career and Professional Development Services Department are hoping that local residents and businesses can step up to the plate with offers of internships, full- or part-time positions, even volunteer opportunities for SMC undergraduate or graduate students looking to test the waters in various fields of employment. Says Bolton, "Safeway and some of our local restaurants have been good to us, but Moraga, as a whole, is not very aware of our program. That's why getting the word out is so important."
No stranger to higher learning, Bolton himself has an impressive roster of degrees under his belt. He holds four graduate degrees in history, psychology, ethnic counseling and private school administration, as well as a doctorate in higher education administration.
In addition to Bolton, there are three other full-time staff members working with 2,700 undergraduates and 900 graduate students at the college. Bolton is the graduate and law school advisor, Director Beverly McLean works with undergraduates and especially grad students and alums for employment opportunities, Paula Conrad is the employer relations and internship manager and Vicki Crum is the marketing and career strategist.
Internship experiences in the past have opened wide doors for SMC students, giving them invaluable footholds for careers in business, law, medicine and more. Bolton states that they are looking for "community members who can act as mentors and `connectors' in all phases of work: law, finance, STEM, development/real estate, medicine, dentistry, marketing, banking, accounting, arts, language, hospitality, construction management, sports management, politics, IT, etc. . basically all fields of endeavor."
The program also encourages "shadowing opportunities" to give students real-life experiences by shadowing a lawyer, doctor or banker, to name a few. A valuable asset to students, according to Bolton, would be "counseling in your area of career." Or "summer and academic semester internships/externships in a legal or medical office, company office, counseling center, town department, gallery/museum or production company."
SMC currently receives over 50 job/internship postings a day. Each of these is meticulously screened for legitimacy. There are occasionally unscrupulous offers for job placements that turn out to be scams. However, those that do pass muster offer opportunities for internships with pay at for-profit companies. Nonprofits are allowed to post for career experience opportunities. Within the past six months, the college listed 1,500 internships, as well as 2,030 part-time, 4,630 full-time and 60 volunteer postings.
Bolton says, "We use Handshake, a program that serves as a place where students, career centers, and recruiters come to meet, talk, and share internship, part-time and full-time job opportunities. Individuals and companies go to Handshake to post internships and jobs. Students keep their resumes on Handshake and go to the site to find internships, part-time and full-time jobs." He added, " We also just had a job fair called Hiring Now."
For more information about the program call Saint Mary's College at (925) 631-4600. To list a job, prospective employers can go to: https://stmarys-ca.joinhandshake.com.
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA