The Value of Internships at UW Bothell

Published: October 24, 2014

A recent Money magazine study measured 665 colleges on numerous measures including career earnings. UW Bothell ranked number one in the state of Washington, and our success is partly due to the high impact experiences offered through the Career Services department on campus. “From what we see working with students, and looking at national data, students who participate in internships are much more likely to have success finding the jobs that they want after graduation” says career counselor David Brown. Because of this, all students are encouraged to complete one or more internships in their field of study before they graduate.

Taylor Klevens, a Law, Economics, and Public Policy major, is currently interning for Northwestern Mutual, a position he learned about during one of UW Bothell’s internship and job fairs. After securing the position, Klevens signed up for the BIS 495 IAS Internship Course to receive guidance and credit throughout the internship.

According to Klevens, securing the internship was no small feat, “Northwestern Mutual has been recognized as one of the top ten places to intern for in the U.S., and is the nation’s No.1 provider of life insurance.” As a financial representative intern, one of Klevens’ main responsibilities is to meet with clients to sell insurance and annuity plans, applying the skills he gained during the company’s “Fast Track Training” program for interns.

Ahmed Mohamed began his intern search at the Career Services department, where an advisor helped him secure a position with the African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest. The Global Studies major was excited to describe the non-profit organization, “Their mission is to promote an environment for direct trade and business prosperity between Africa and the Pacific Northwest.” As an intern, Mohamed kept track of the organization’s members, planned events, and completed other business related tasks aimed at increasing trade relationships between the Pacific Norwest and African countries.

According to Brown, the high impact experience gained through such internships is what companies are looking for in recent graduates, “We are told over and over again by employers that they want to see students who have internships or other hands-on experience.”

Klevens hopes to continue working for the company after he graduates. Mohamed plans to take his experience overseas to do business in Africa. Regardless of what these men end up doing, they will be able to apply skills learned during their high impact experience as interns.

Ahmed Mohamed

Taylor Klevins