Over the summer, many Bob Jones University students interned at different organizations, often at the recommendation of Career Services. Three students who spoke with Career Services and eventually received summer internships were Jonathan Hallas, Tana Paolino and Hart Zakaria.
Jonathan Hallas, a senior double major in history and paralegal studies, initially spoke with Career Services about resume tips and job opportunities and was ultimately pointed to a job listing at E. Scott Sanders, a real estate law firm where he ended up interning. “During a typical day I filed deeds, mortgages and other documents, prepared deeds and did title updates,” Hallas said.
Hallas said he enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction he received from working hard at the internship. “Putting into practice the skills I learned in class is empowering and satisfying and motivates me in pursuing a legal career,” he said.
Hallas learned that working in a law firm requires acute attention to detail. To his surprise, he said he discovered that he enjoys other types of law practice more than real es- tate law. Hallas is currently still working at E. Scott Sanders.
Tana Paolino, a senior English major, interned over the summer at BJU Press as a proofreader. Paolino said, “I wanted to intern at the Press to gain real-world experience in the publishing industry since my dream is to work with books.”
One of Paolino’s biggest takeaways from the intern- ship was learning how similar the processes of editing textbooks and editing other books are. She also said she enjoyed the training and the friendly environment at the Press. “All of the employees are so welcoming; they really do act like a family at the Press,” she said.
After her internship, Paolino transitioned into her current job as a proofreader at the Press. “I’ve always had a strong direction regarding what I want to do in my future and where I want to go, but I think that short-term, my internship has led me to the stepping stones to get there,” she said.
Hart Zakaria, a senior health sciences major, said he applied to several job boards and career websites after getting direction from Career Services as well. He eventually applied to Maxim Healthcare Staffing and was hired to intern there for the summer.
Zakaria said he enjoyed the structure of his internship. “Every other Wednesday the interns would get lunch with executives, like the CEO or CFO, where we got the opportunity to ask questions and learn about their professional experiences,” he said.
He also enjoyed get- ting to know the other in- terns on separate intern outings. Zakaria said that while some days his internship work in the billing and collections department was boring, the experience helped him to narrow down what he wants to do after graduation.
“Many times an internship can demonstrate what you don’t want to do more than what you do want to do,” Zakaria said.
