Summer Internships: How to Land a Summer Interview

Summer internships are short-term experiences that provide a real insight into what it is actually like working in a specific job or career that you are interested in. The time period of summer internships begin in late May or early June and last up until August.  Some internships are paid and others or not, it just varies on the companies that you apply for. Internships provide students with the opportunity to gain relevant knowledge and skills required in the field that they may potentially want to go into, gain more networks, and also build their resume. Being able to gain experiences through internships and making professional contacts are good tools for getting a job right after graduating college.

Make a List: This can help you organize and figure out what you want to do.  It helps you highlight your interest and focus on what you want to learn. Take note of a few companies that you would like to work for and jot down some key points to your search such as (1)What town or area the company is located in?, (2) Is the position paid?, (3) Is this a full time or part time position?, etc. By making a list and comparing your search, you can narrow down your choices.

Do Research: It is good to start off by looking into big companies that are around the area that you intend to stay during the summer. A lot of the times, big corporations have internship programs available to students during the summer months. Do your research so you have a general overview about these companies, their mission and goals, and how you can benefit their organization.

Creativity: You can do more than to be stuck in the office all summer filing paper work. Look into internships within museums, art galleries, nature centers, etc. Branch out and find ways to broaden your creative skills by looking into different internship possibilities.  

Make sure you stick with it: Once you have narrowed down your search and found a few places that spark your interest, ask yourself if you see yourself interning at this company, are able to have sufficient transportation necessary, and/or a place to stay, etc.

Resume ready: While applying to these internship positions, make sure that you update and double-check your resume before sending it in to the recruiter.  UC Merced Career Services offers students individual resume guidance in accordance with their desired major and career route.  Call us at (209) 228-7272 to schedule an appointment.

Spread your networks: Networking with people can help you build professional relationships. Having a large network pool can be beneficial in your internship search and offer you future internships/jobs that may not be listed on the company website.

Laura Li
STEM Career Consultant
Career Services Center

5 Tips on Getting Back to the School Work Mode After Vacation

Laura Li
STEM Consultant
Career Services Center

I always find it a difficult transition to get back into the school mode after a long, relaxing vacation. Here are some helpful tips that can help get you back into your school routine in no time!

1.     Preparation is key: A few days before returning back to school, check your email to see if your professors post any syllabi, that way you have a general overview of the curriculum of the courses you are taking as well as planning out your semester by listing dates of exams or projects in your academic planner.

2.     Catching up with friends: Meeting up with friends after the break is always fun because everyone dishes out their fun vacation stories, but this is also a good time to see if you have any classes with your friends or classmates. That way you can form study groups with them for upcoming exams during the semester.

3.     The Planner: The first few days back to school from vacation will be hectic since you are slowly adapting to your new work and/or class schedule. Writing in your planner or creating a task list will take some of the stress off your shoulders because it will help keep you organized and prevent you from getting too overwhelmed.

4.     Eating Healthy: You know what they say, “Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day.” Having good nutritional habits provides the body with energy throughout the day. It is incredibly important to eat a hardy healthy breakfast on your first day back to school so that you can give your body the proper fuel to start off the day right.

5.     Don’t take on too much: Though it may be tempting to plan out your whole semester’s events all in one day, you don’t want to swamp yourself by taking on too much all at once. Sometimes it helps to focus on one thing at a time. Check off the assignments that you have done one by one, in no time; you will find yourself doing things in routine that will be easier to follow and get use to.

New Beginnings

Its funny how a start of something new also means the loss of another…

Laura Li - STEM Career Consultant

Reminiscing to the beginning of this semester, I was really looking forward to the new school year. I was excited to meet new colleagues, gain new experiences and continue on with my journey here at UC Merced. During the first couple of weeks of the semester, I was running around all over campus, attending meetings and workshop, brainstorming ideas for upcoming events, adaptating to my new classes and work schedule, as well getting accustomed to my new job as a Career Consultant. Being held accountable for all these commitments that I agreed to take on was challenging because I didn’t want to let anyone down. I knew that I had it in me to accomplish all of these tasks and was determined to do so.  Just when everything seemed to be going as planned, things took a complete turn. Suddenly, I got the news that my best friend of almost nine years had passed away. And so it was, the beginning of my senior year of college and dealing with a lost of someone that I held dearly close to my heart. At this very moment, I couldn’t help, but to drop everything, my world felt like it was crashing down, all of the determination and eagerness to fulfill my duties as a student and a worker slowly began to decenergrate. I couldn’t focus; I wasn’t unable to complete my assignments, all I could think about was my best friend. A week passed by and I decided to call off some commitments that I had made from work and school to head back home and attend her service. I needed a few days to myself so I could gather my thoughts and emotions together to pay tribute and say my final goodbyes. When I finally came back to work and school after such a heart-breaking weekend, the last thing I could do was to stay on track and focus. But somehow I found the courage in me to move pass this and continue. I knew that the more I kept myself productive, the more it would keep my mind off of the situation. Couple of weeks passed by, and midterms began to come up.  I found myself slowly getting back in my routine of work and school. I came to a realization that work and school provided me with a distraction. Focusing on each task helped me create a forward momentum, a push that was able to propel me into this new phase of my life.  Even though my best friend had passed, everything must still go on. I continued with this forward driving force and kept focus on accomplishing all of my school work and work outside of school. Even though the beginning of something new resulted in a lost of another, starting new projects and tasks gave me that extra boost to continue pursuing new opportunities. Dealing with this experience taught me that life is always going to have unexpected turns, but you must continue to keep reaching your goals and move forward from it.

Biology Majors - Saying No to Med School

There are many students here at UC Merced majoring in Biological Sciences. You may think, well if they are majoring in Biology, they are all definitely going to medical school and become future doctors. That is not so much the case. Although, there are some students who have their heart set on going to medical school, there are also some students who don’t necessarily want to go through that route. Also, your preferences begin to change, initially you may want to become a doctor, but as you further your undergraduate study, things change and becoming doctor or apart of the medical field may not be the right fit for you. That was my case; I had the mind set that I was going to be a Pediatrician my freshmen year but now almost half way done with my first semester as a senior, a lot has change and I am no longer interested in becoming a doctor.

If you are interested in studying about animals then a potential emphasis Biological Science student have is the option of studying Ecology and Evolutionary. This field studies living creatures as well as embraces education and research in all aspects of biodiversity, including learning the history of life on earth and the ecological context of how life has first evolved. As for the field of Ecology and Evolutionary biology, there are various careers. One career is teaching, by becoming an ecologist, you are able to teach at universities, colleges, high schools, museums, and nature centers. In most universities, teaching jobs in these areas come -frequently associated with doing research as well. Of course, you would have to do your own research and apply to a graduate school that has these programs in order to go through with this career.

Another field in the Biological Science field is Developmental Biology, which is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop.This form of Biology focuses on the genetic control of cell growth of many different living organisms. One potential career for this field is becoming a researcher. Research in these areas can be performing studies on inheritable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and its drugs, reproductive technology and vaccine developments. Other research practices in these lab environments can entail doing research and undergoing cloning methods, the development of making an identical copy of a species. Another career pathway in developmental biology is academia. Development biologists with a Ph.D. are able to work at universities, teaching Biology. These are all just some examples of careers that Biological Science majors can consider other than jobs pertaining in the medical field.

Luckily, UC Merced offers both Developmental and Ecology and Evolutionary emphasis. If you plan on studying these fields of Biology make sure you go to the natural science website and research what specific classes are needed to obtain a degree with this emphasis. There are careers that you can obtain with this degree other than wearing scrubs and injecting patients with needles. 

I first started looking at these different options during my freshmen year. This decision became apparent to me when I went to a seminar about medical school.  As the speaker started talking about the life of a medical school student, this lifestyle all seemed to overwhelm me rather than excite me. I started to see how long I would have to be in school for, the amount of loans I would have to take out, as well as the amount of workload that would be piled on to top of me. Since I was already struggling academically in my courses as a freshman, I began to see that from here on out, school was going to become even more difficult and I had a long way to come. I figured that the best route for me was to open up my options and head towards a different route other than medical school. I still wanted to major in Biology because I really enjoyed learning this subject but now I needed to find a different career in this field.

Career Services Center
careerservices.ucmerced.edu
careerservices@ucmerced.edu
209-228-7272
Kolligian Library, STE 127

My Life. My Career. My Journey.

Laura Li is an undergraduate at the University of California, Merced. She is majoring in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Human Biology and minoring in Public Health and Sociology. She plans on working in the medical field.

Laura Li - Career Services STEM Consultant

My interest in the medical field began when I first started volunteering at a convalescent home in the Merced community. Being an active member in society as well as a resource for individuals who relied on me for my assistance not only made me feel influential, but it made me feel that I was able to make a difference. I do have to admit that when I first began my services at the convalescent home, I felt out of place. The environment itself had a depressing feeling towards it. Some of the old folks there were very friendly and enjoyed my company but there were some that were bitter which is understandable. I spent a lot of time hosting activities such as playing bingo with them, organizing birthday parties, and serving them lunch. My experiences really opened my eyes and made me realize that my contributions to this center were significant. Seeing the joy and laughter on their faces made my experience worthwhile.

I also have been an active volunteer at Mercy Medical Center for two years now. Volunteering here was a whole different environment. The nurses and doctors are more concerned with just getting the patient in and out of the emergency room rather than spending quality time with them. That was where my role came in. My daily duty is to go from room to room and introduce myself to the patient and their families and ask if there is anything I could help them with, such as, bringing them water, a blanket, or a pillow, or bring the nurse/doctor if they wanted to see them. There were times where I would get short responses, which meant that they didn’t need anything and sometimes, I would get patients who wanted me to comfort them, even if it was for ten minutes. By just being by their side for those couple of minutes, I saw what a difference I made because I helped them get their mind off of them being in the hospital. Some patients would go on and on about their life, talked about their families, etc. It was fascinating to hear all these stories from many different patients because not only are they telling you stories, it made me feel like they were letting me into their lives by opening up to me. Many stories touched me and patients have thanked me for the services that I’ve made. I knew that right then and there that this was the beginning of my journey of making a difference in people's lives. By becoming a health care provider I will be given the opportunity to assist those in need on a daily basis.