The Office of Career Services at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff (UAPB) has been awarded a $200,000 grant as part of a new Paid Internship Program. Funded by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, the grant will create new paid internship opportunities and convert previously unpaid internships into paid opportunities for students.
“This is a double win for university students and local businesses,” said UAPB Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander. “Students are getting paid while obtaining valuable work experience and the local employers are getting a temporary workforce funded through a grant to the university.”
During the summer, the Office of Career Services hosted a luncheon to collaborate with approximately 15 businesses in Pine Bluff and Little Rock to develop paid internship opportunities. After the luncheon, resumes were submitted to employers and students were interviewed for Cooperative Education experiences to begin in the fall semester.
Seventeen students were hired through the program and began work on September 4. The following students were hired as interns at their respective employers: Arts & Science Center – Henry Lucas, junior, Mass Communication major, and Lyrica Williams, sophomore, Human Development/Family Studies major; City of Pine Bluff – Crystal Branch, senior, Human Development/Family Studies major; Ranisha Brown, junior Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering major; Courtney Grice, senior Business Administration/Management major; and Tanyra Williams, senior Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering major. Evergreen Packaging – Elizabeth Galloway, senior, Business Administration/Management major, and Malia Green, senior Accounting major. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office – Averie Jackson, junior, Business Administration/Marketing major, and De’Jah Huffman, sophomore, Criminal Justice major. Pine Bluff Workforce Center – Kori Smith, senior, Business Administration/Marketing major. Relyance Bank – Jalen Mapp, junior, Finance major. Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District -Christ-Shamma Matalbert, senior, Political Science major.
State Farm – Nikkia Edwards, senior, Business Administration/Management major, and Nyla Riley, junior Business Administration/Management major. The Strong Company – Kacy Higgins, junior, Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering major; Daijia Marshall, senior, Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering major; Frederick Taylor, senior, Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering major; and Markeem Thomas, senior, Industrial Technology Management and Applied Engineering major. United Rental (Little Rock, AR) – Stephen Alexander, senior, Business Administration/Management major.
The students are working 20 hours per week in positions that are relative to their field of study. In addition, they will receive up to 6 hours of academic credit for the experience.
“This is a great opportunity for students to position themselves to be marketable upon graduation,” said Shirley Cherry, director of Career Services. “Employees seek new hires that have obtained at least two internships or Cooperative Education experiences in their field of study.”
For more information on opportunities similar to this, contact the Office of Career Services at 870.575.8461 or stop by Caldwell Hall, Room 202.
Career Services is financially supported in part by a grant from the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Strengthening Institutions, Title III, Part B, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program.
