By By Ashley Cox
Staff-Writer
The pandemic has made internships at IU South Bend difficult for some students and professors helping them.
With less students on campus, class size for the internship course has gotten smaller, but it always depends on the size of the grade during that year.
“There are less students on campus, so less students are seeking internships due to the pandemic,” said Deanna Shively, Senior Lecturer of Management and Experiential Learning at the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics.
Shively has served as the internship coordinator for seven years and helping the students at IU South Bend find internships this fall semester was the hardest than the past seven years.
“I believe it’s the combination of local businesses slowing down and our students’ concern for their safety due to COVID-19. I have reached out to many of our regular employers that offer internships and they have either kept the same students they had last semester or scaled back operations,” said Shivley.
According to Shively the regular number in the fall internship course is 10, but this semester the course has three.
Rachel Mejia, senior, has an internship this fall semester with the International Programs Department at IU South Bend working as a media intern.
This is Mejia’s first internship, and unlike many others, it was not difficult for her to get an internship.
“It actually wasn’t too difficult to get an internship, even among the pandemic. Many professors sent out emails during the summer, sharing jobs they knew students could do and would possibly be interested in,” said Mejia.
Even though it was easy to get the internship, she has faced problems because some courses are not in-person.
Meija had a different internship lined up for the summer before the pandemic, but due to the pandemic it was canceled.
