Loyola Marymount University’s Career and Professional Development office, in partnership with LMU College of Business Administration and LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, awarded 64 LMU students up to $2,500 to pursue a paid or unpaid internship in summer 2022. The 64 students hail from the university’s five undergraduate colleges and include sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
The Summer Internship Funding Program provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to pursue internships that may not have been possible due to the cost of living and commuting to complete the experience. “My hope is that students are aware of this program and we continue to grow our numbers of students who intern during their time at LMU,” said Marcy Newman, interim associate vice provost of Career and Professional Development.
CBA offered $27,000 to support students of all majors interning with the Save It Forward Initiative (SIFI), a community financial literacy program in partnership between LMU’s entrepreneurship and management programs, and the FoolProof Foundation. BCLA committed $15,000 as a part of their donor-funded career pathways fund, managed in partnership with CPD and distributed to liberal arts students who accept unpaid internships.
Four international students, from India, Spain, Indonesia, and Cyprus, and two DACA students received funding for their summer experience. The internships cover a breadth of career fields including marketing, politics, finance, film, health care, archaeology, and more, in locations across Los Angeles, Southern California, Washington D.C., and destinations across the globe.
“We want to ensure students realize that they do not need to decline an internship offer if it is underpaid or unpaid and that this fund exists to offset the costs,” Newman said. “CPD is here to support students in finding internships, applying for these opportunities, and then pursuing these meaningful opportunities to clarify their academic and career plans.”
Career readiness is key to ensuring a smooth transition from undergraduate student to successful member of the workforce, and an internship can be one of the best ways for students to develop professionally. Unfortunately, the availability of paid internships is sometimes sparse, and even paid internships can come with financial strings attached.
“I am grateful to the donors who have made this incredibly valuable program possible,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas Poon. “With additional support we hope to grow this program and provide even more students the opportunity to advance their career readiness with a funded internship.”
To support CPD’s Summer Internship Funding, contact Liz Iracki, director of development, at liz.iracki@lmu.edu.
