Career Center

Amy Soenksen ’13 spent the spring semester interning and studying in the Capitol as a participant in Hamilton’s Washington D.C. Program.  When the academic year came to an end, she wasn’t quite ready to head back home to the West Coast. After hearing positive feedback about U.S. Department of Justice internships from three fellow Hamilton students, Soenksen decided to apply in the hopes of getting a taste of legal work on the federal level.

Ian Nichols ’13 is having the experience of a lifetime as an intern for the international non-profit Bridges Across Borders in Jaque, Panama. Nichols is working as an English teacher and sea turtle conservationist in the rural village of Jaque, which is sandwiched between the Serranía del Bagre rainforest preserve and the Jaque beach on the Pacific Ocean. He describes his “office” as “a veranda overlooking the beach in the small cabin  in which I’m living.”

Most students are satisfied with working in one summer internship at a time, but when Amanda Berman ’13 was offered two different internships that suited her academic and career interests, she was able to accept both. Berman, a history concentrator, is spending the summer working at the Nichols House Museum in Boston, and at the Adams National Historic Park (Adams NHP) in Quincy, Mass.

Tara Huggins ’14 may be a communication concentrator, but unlike many of that department’s students, her career goals have little to do with public relations, news media or communication research. Rather, Huggins wishes to pursue a career in full-service event planning, and she is completing a summer internship at Occasions Catering in Denver, Colo., to supplement her Hamilton communication background with real world experience.

Mao Ding’s ’14 work schedule is anything if not intimidating. Ding arrives at his internship at New York City’s Capital Priority Management LLC at 8:30 a.m. and stays till 6 p.m. Priority Capital Management is a $30 million hedge fund that specializes in managing assets for high-net-worth investors in the high-yield bond market.

Marla Marquez ’14 is spending her summer interning at the New England Center for Children (NECC), where her remarkable internship allows her to gain valuable career-related experience while at the same time giving back to the community. The NECC is a private, nonprofit autism research and education center in Southborough, Mass.

Max Vaickus ’12 had been coming to Hamilton long before his first year as a student on the Hill. For years, he would accompany his family each winter and summer to visit his brother Louis Vaickus ’05. The Hill’s stately buildings made an impression early on: “that’s what I thought a college was supposed to look like,” Vaickus remembers. When it was time to choose his own college, he too picked Hamilton. Now, he will soon begin a career as a medical assistant with the Boston Sports and Shoulder Center.

Images of alphabetizing manila folders and stuffing envelopes usually come to mind when thinking of undergraduate internships, but William Godinez ’13 spends his time at work a bit differently. As an intern for the Portland Timbers Major League Soccer team, he often works one-on-one with professional soccer players, represents the team at community events, and translates information for season ticket holders

While it might be unusual for a student intern to have the opportunity to even meet the CEO of their place of internship, Marta Pisera ’14 has had the opportunity to pitch ideas directly to public relations mogul and The Britto Agency (TBA) CEO and president Marvet Britto.

Stephen LaRochelle’s ’14 summer internship perfectly exemplifies the adage “do what you love and the money will follow.” LaRochelle, a history major and a first baseman on the Hamilton varsity baseball team, is working as a sports journalism intern with the Danbury Westerners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL).