The School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences internship course BIS 495 Worlds of Work allows students to apply their critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skills in a professional environment. At the same time, it gives students a look at possible jobs or careers in business, government or nonprofits. Here are some of the students in the summer class taught by Loren Redwood. (Jama Abdirahman photos)
Kailin Cheng (society, ethics and human behavior, winter ’18)
Internship location: Bothell State Farm insurance agency
Work: customer retention, handling calls from customers, solving problems, handling email
Experience: “I developed a lot of relationships, networked and got to know the community." Cheng was hired after the internship, so "I got a career out of it, too.”
Next/Goal: work part-time job during school and earn license to sell insurance
Samantha Netz (American and ethnic studies, fall ’17)
Internship location: Washington Kids in Transition, an Edmonds nonprofit assisting homeless children who are bused to schools
Work: started Instagram account and built 75 followers, updated emails, created newsletter, represented agency at events, helped pack snack bags for kids on long bus rides
Experience: “It was awesome. I did a lot of different things, and I really liked that. I want to work in a nonprofit, so that’s why I was really excited to work with them.”
Next/Goal: continue as volunteer for nonprofits
Sarah Myrick (media and communication studies, June ’17)
Internship location: Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle
Work: event operations — setting up tents, food, audio equipment for events such as Zootunes outdoor concerts and fundraisers to support animal conservation around the world
Experience: “It was a new experience I really liked a lot. I wanted to do something at a nonprofit.”
Next/Goal: work in events management
Neil Wang (media and communication studies, June ‘18)
Internship location: Jodi Rothfield Casting Associates office in Seattle
Work: assistant to casting director, finding talent for short films and advertisements and organizing information from actors at auditions
Experience: “There was a lot of multitasking going on. It’s really good for networking. It also allowed me to have a bigger appreciation of what goes on behind the cameras.”
Next/Goal: continue training in casting office, take acting lessons, move to Los Angeles to pursue acting career
