The South Hills Internship Program

How do I become a South Hills Internship Placement Site?

Request a South Hills intern by filling out this form. Contact our Career Services department Lora Beamenderfer Career Services Assistant 814-234-7755 ext. 2064 lbeamenderfer@southhills.edu Ellen Spinelli Career Services Coordinator 814-234-7755 ext. 2060 espinelli@southhills.edu Contact each campus location Altoona: 814-944-6134 Lewistown: 717-248-8140 Philipsburg: 814-342-7427 State College: 814-234-7755

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Why participate in our Internship Program?

The benefits are both significant and numerous! Highly motivated trainee-level students often have talent, enthusiasm, and productivity that exceed employer expectations, and students are generally flexible in assuming new and varied responsibilities. Interns can also serve as ideal candidates for future job openings, potentially saving an employer significant recruiting and training time and expense.

The opportunity to work with an intern and evaluate performance without an employment commitment is often an ideal situation. In addition, employers involved in the internship process have the satisfaction of knowing that they are contributing as good corporate citizens by supporting a program that clearly enhances the education of the community’s future business leaders.

Responsibilities of an Internship Site Supervisor

• Provide on-site workspace for a 336-hour internship. This is an average of approximately 32 hours per week, over a 9-12 week timeframe (except Health Information Technology). South Hills School requires that each student intern spend at least 80% of their time observing/assisting/completing tasks related to their specific program of study at SHSBT, involving variety in both activity and exposure. The balance of intern time may be general office-related duties.
• Provide on-site guidance to the intern. Throughout the internship, oversee the student’s progress and complete a brief weekly intern evaluation form. Verify the intern’s status report and email, fax or mail it to South Hills.
• Be available for a short on-site visit with the South Hills internship supervisor about halfway through the internship.

Internship Start Dates

Internships are spring (mid-March) or summer (mid-June), depending on the program. Health Information Technology students follow a different schedule.

Hours

Students are expected to be at South Hills on Monday mornings for Professional Development and Career Preparation classes. Other than that, work hours should be arranged to meet the needs of the internship site.

Intern Search and Interview

An interview between the student and the internship site (preferably with the main internship site supervisor) is required in advance of internship placement; this helps to ensure an ideal match of student skills to site needs.

Paid vs. Unpaid Internships

Compensation is optional, based on Department of Labor guidelines in combination with company policy or company choice. Pay, or the absence of pay, should in no way affect either the intern’s performance or employer expectations.

Before accepting an internship, students will be made aware if it is a paid or unpaid assignment. Students are encouraged to evaluate internship opportunities based on the expected exposure and experience.

Attendance

An intern’s goal will be perfect attendance and punctuality. Students are responsible to notify both South Hills and the internship site as soon as possible of any absence.

Disclaimer

South Hills has many requests for interns, sometimes many more requests than students available to fill the requests. We cannot guarantee that there will be a student for every interested site.