Dried leaves crunch under the eager steps of Khanye Jamison ’26 as he heads to his first event as an Arcadia University alumni ambassador. In the University Commons Great Room, his eyes dart around the room to the successful alumni in attendance before settling on a 2003 graduate who’s about to alter his career trajectory with three words: “You should apply.”

Jamison has always believed that networking opportunities are available at all times; you just need to be open to them: “If you’re not talking, you’re not networking.”

The Media and Communication major put that mindset into practice when he met Comcast’s Vice President of Editorial Platform Merchandising Chelsea Badeau ’03 at the Salute to Excellence scholarship dinner in early October.

She told Jamison about an internship with Comcast that aligned with his interests, which he went back to his residence hall and applied for that night.

“It’s funny because we were learning about resume building in my Build Your Career class with Associate Director of Career Education Cynthia Nichols, and Assistant Professor of Media and Communication Chris Mullin was teaching us about interviews, specifically for jobs and internships. A week later, I had to do the same thing that she made us do, but for real.”

This background helped him stand out in a candidate pool of more than 700 and receive an offer early in the spring 2025 semester. In his internship this summer, Jamison is analyzing Xfinity users’ watch history to optimize TV recommendations.

Experiential learning opportunities like this are a staple of an Arcadia University education, getting students out of the classroom and ready for life and careers. Arcadia’s Office of Career Education (OCE) assists students in preparing for internships by providing individualized support, like in-person or AI-driven resume reviews and mock interviews. The office creates spaces for students to put what they’ve learned into action by inviting employers to campus for the annual Career and Internship Fair and Tabling Tuesdays, casual networking opportunities in The Chat. The OCE also encourages students to seek internships and job positions through Handshake, an online platform that connects students with employers.

While searching for internships, students like Jamison learn to market themselves and form connections. OCE helps by offering learning sessions where students can understand what networking is before inviting employers to campus, so students can hone these skills with authentic experiences.

“We love to dig in when we find employers who are like, ‘I love Arcadia students,’ and we think, ‘Come on through, meet more of them!’ and ‘How can we put you in front of students as many times as possible?’” said OCE Executive Director Alison LaLond Wyant, who also serves as executive director of Civic and Global Engagement. “When we see that those employers take us up on the opportunity to come to campus, we really want to latch on to them.”

Maria Davis ’25, an Actuarial Science major, found her first internship with the consulting services firm Illumifin through her advisor, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics Irina Pogrebivsky. Then, at Arcadia’s annual Actuarial Interview Day, Davis landed a second internship with the professional services firm Aon.

“I interviewed with around 10 companies and received four different offers, and felt like I had the best connection with the people at Aon,” she said. “[The internship] gave me opportunities to network and learn about company resources and values. This, combined with my in-office experience, helped me feel welcomed and appreciated.” Davis has accepted a full-time position with Aon after graduating.

Charli Rissmiller ’25 combined her major in Public Health with her minor in Marketing for her internship with the skincare therapy company MySkinBuddy.

“One of the best parts about this internship is the networking it has provided,” she said. “I have been able to reach out to many different sales and marketing executives in the field, which could prove to help me down the road.”

Like Davis, Rissmiller’s internship led to a full-time job after graduation, kickstarting her goal of working in healthcare marketing or pharmaceutical sales.

“Even though this will be my first full-time job, I feel confident going into it with the knowledge of the field and company I gained from this internship,” she added.

Michael Zlotnick ’22DPT says that his clinical experiences as a student in Arcadia’s College of Health Sciences helped him succeed in his recent transition from the 3 Dimensional Physical Therapy office in Haddon Township, N.J., to clinic director and co-owner of the office in Jenkintown, Pa. Zlotnick found value in working in a range of locations not only to network with other doctors but also to build recognition among local patients.

“I think sometimes it helps to have been able to not just be in the Philadelphia area, but also to go into South Jersey,” he said. “It helped me kind of build that ‘Oh, I know this area. I’ve worked in the hospital nearby,’ and people appreciate that. It shows you’ve spent some time working in their community.”

“Internships give students the option to test out different opportunities before they have to commit to a job,” said OCE’s Associate Director of Employer Relations Sonia Blount. “It gives them the first look of what it means to be in the workforce, whether that is professional attire, effective communication, just office norms, those types of things that you may not necessarily learn in school.”

Michaelangelo Gomez ’26, a Sport Management major, has interned six times with organizations such as Penn Athletics, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and the New York Red Bulls. He’s put Blount’s recommendations into practice, soaking in as much as possible before he graduates.

“Internships are good ways to see what you like and don’t like, so you’re better prepared to make your career choice when you enter the job market,” he said. “Be aggressive in the market and apply to as many as you can to better diversify yourself.”

Public Health major Alexandra Zolty ’25 took another approach to professional development by volunteering with Cradle of Hope, a nonprofit in Glenside that supports single mothers, for her Public Health Service Learning course.

“Cradle of Hope has allowed me to develop more empathy for others as well as practice my leadership skills,” she said. “I’ve also been able to work with and understand those from different backgrounds, which will help prepare me for the future working in the medical field.” Zolty will be entering Arcadia’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program this fall.

Arcadia’s School of Education prepares students for teaching careers through student teaching placements at local schools. For Pre-K Early Education major Tiani Young ’25, it was a first-grade classroom at Glenside Elementary School.

“Pre-student teaching was a great way to start off working with that group because now that I’m returning for student teaching, the kids are already familiar with me,” she said. “When you’re doing student teaching, you see a lot of things that you don’t see when you’re a student.”

Many of the courses Young took prior to student teaching helped inform her understanding of what goes into leading a classroom.

“I had a good number of classes that I feel were super beneficial,” she added. “Especially with the hands-on things that we did to get our feet wet and see how to teach a class for my future.”

Daijah Patton ’22, an English teacher at Upper Moreland High School in Willow Grove, Pa., reveres the sense of community she felt in the student teaching seminar course.

“That seminar is just kind of a support room,” she said. “Everyone in there is at a different school, doing a different thing, but sometimes we would all connect just to check in and be like, ‘Are these kids crazy, or what?’”

Arcadia prepares students to become globally minded professionals who thrive in an interconnected world through their understanding of varied perspectives and lived experiences, including through professional development opportunities overseas. History major Nicole Burgon ’25 gained legal experience as a Dublin parliamentary intern while studying abroad in Ireland. 

“I knew I wanted to do another semester abroad after I went on a First-Year Study Abroad Experience in London, and I wanted to go somewhere like Ireland,” Burgon said. “So, when I found this program that combined both my academic interests and my desire to study abroad, I immediately started talking to my study abroad advisor and others in the office to get involved.” Burgon has furthered her pursuit of a career in law with internships at an immigration law firm in Philadelphia and Arcadia’s Office of General Counsel.

History major Benjamin Lashbrook ’26 interned with London’s Museum of Brands, gaining hands-on experience as a museum administrator.

“Now I have experience in ad work. I have experience working with collections. I have experience in marketing a museum,” Lashbrook explained. “So I understand a lot more about how a museum works and how they draw visitors, which is something I’ll be able to take into a future job.”

Arcadia’s Office of Civic and Global Engagement connects students interested in interning abroad with employers in their chosen destinations.

That’s how Business Administration major Sydney Boudreau ’25 landed an internship with public relations firm The Mint Partners in Sydney, Australia, where she uncovered a knack for marketing.

“While I was there, I realized how much I enjoyed the creative side of brand strategy and communication,” she said. “It felt natural and exciting, like something I could see myself doing.”

This clarity was carried into her senior capstone project, where students simulated running a business. “There was a finance and operations side, and a marketing side,” she said. “I took on the marketing role, and it just confirmed everything for me. It came easily, it made sense, and it felt like the right fit.”

Another benefit of getting on-the-job training in another country is exposure to different cultures, populations, and ways of doing things. 

When Alex McKennon ’25MMS, MPH, completed a clinical rotation at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela, South Africa, he noted the vast inequities that exist between the private hospitals that serve the affluent minority and the public hospitals like Rob Ferreira that most people rely on.

“I saw how badly this affects the patients who cannot afford private hospital care. Beds don’t always have sheets, windows aren’t always intact, medical supplies like sterile gloves are lacking, and certain medicines are not always available,” he explained. “However, right down the road is a private hospital akin to what we see in the U.S. Although there remains an unmet need for quality care among this population, Rob Ferreira’s resource limitations gave me a unique opportunity to learn hands-on skills that I may not have learned in the U.S., for which I am grateful.”

At their core, internships teach skills that can’t adequately be taught in a classroom. Such opportunities have motivated students like Jamison to push beyond what they thought they were capable of. Now, as he plans out his daily commute to Center City, Philadelphia, Jamison is eager to put all that he’s prepared for into practice, greeting new faces as he goes.

“If I ever don’t know how to do something, I’m going to make sure I learn,” he said. “When you get involved and shake the right hands, talk to the right people, and just be yourself and be positive, it takes you a long way.”