The UCA School of Communication held their first annual internship fair in the lobby of Thompson Hall Jan. 22. 

At the fair, students were able to go up to different booths and talk to certain businesses about possible internships. 

Rob Moritz, the internship coordinator for journalism at UCA said that the students decided to have the fair. 

“The directors advisory council met with the Student Advisory Council in the fall, and one of the things we talked about were internships,” Moritz said. “The students at the meeting suggested that we have an internship fair.”

There were multiple different businesses and organizations at the internship fair, including the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and AY Magazine. 

UCA alumna Mary LeSieur was in attendance with AY Magazine, and she got her job with AY after interning for them. 

“As a former intern with AY, I gained a lot of on the job experience which was really valuable,” LeSieur said. “When I did go into the job market, I actually didn’t have to search too far — They created a position for me and hired me there, so I got to shift right from an intern role into being a full time employee.” 

Moritz also said that some students that attended the internship fair have already completed their internship, but showed up anyway to hand out their resumes. 

Sophomore Bella Summerson, a communication major and public relations minor, said she decided to come to the internship fair because of all the opportunities. 

“There are so many opportunities, especially that I don’t know about,” Summerson said. “This really teaches me about what all is available at the moment, and what I can look toward in the future.” 

Summerson said that networking was an important part of her decision to attend the internship fair. 

“I’m only a sophomore, and just mingling and getting to know some of the people that I could potentially be working for in the future, it just really helps me network and allows me to step my foot in the door,” Summerson said. 

LeSieur described how UCA prepared her for both her internship and her full time job with AY magazine. 

“UCA prepared me for a lot of things, like the background in writing,” LeSieur said. 

“It gave me a really great foundation in all of the things that I needed to know to go into a job and be able to do that job, ” LeSieur said. 

“So that’s why I think internships are important to students because you have the foundation of it, and you learn that from college, and you understand it on a college level, and then you actually get to go and apply it and see how it differs a little bit in a professional setting,” LeSieur said. 

Moritz said that journalism is one of the few programs at UCA that require an internship for the students. 

“One of the things we want the students to do is to be able to see how they perform in a professional environment,” Moritz said.