Internships: Student Successes, Processes and Advice

Max Rosen '27 is set to be a summer intern at the Times Union. Photo by Morgan Muller '27

As spring rolls around, so do internship applications, deadlines and decisions. In the hectic period of refreshing email boxes for responses, it is difficult to recognize success stories or seek advice from those who have secured summer internships. 

The experience of an internship is invaluable, fashion merchandising major Izabella Hottentot ‘27 said. 

“[Internships] give a person the opportunity to find out their true passion in life and also gain real-world experience in industries that fascinate them,” said Hottentot. 

Although many students navigate the internship application process on their own, Marist students can utilize Career Services and other campus resources. Hottentot credited Malinda Behrens, Interim Director for Fashion Career Development, Internships and External Partnerships, for sharing the company’s information. 

“I’m really grateful for the help of the fashion faculty here,” Hottentot said.

Hottentot will spend the summer interning at Meridian Brands in New York City, where she hopes to further her aspirations of working in luxury fashion merchandising.

The New York-based company specializes in design, manufacturing and sourcing branded and private-label women’s apparel. Hottentot plans to split her summer working in both sales and merchandising.

“It’s giving the exact experience that I need, being connected with buyers of different stores and brands and also seeing the ins and outs of the fashion industry in general,” Hottentot said. 

After help from Behrens and sending an email to the hiring managers, Hottentot completed two interviews before landing the internship. 

Similar to Hottentot, Max Rosen ‘27 also worked with Marist faculty to secure his summer internship. Rosen, a communications major with a minor in American studies, worked with Journalism Professor Jeffrey Basinger and the Community Journalism Initiative, which selected and placed him at the Times Union. 

“I was applying to a lot, but didn’t have much luck,” Rosen said. “I feel like I got really lucky that the program exists.”

Now, Rosen will be working at the Times Union’s Hudson Valley branch and commuting to Albany once a week, all while living on campus. 

“My dream is to be a sportswriter. I’ve always wanted to be a baseball beat writer and cover a team,” Rosen said. 

He noted that the paper doesn’t cover sports much, allowing him to go into the field and report while diversifying his writing and improving his interviewing skills. Rosen added that internships are critical for gaining real-world experience, something that cannot be achieved through grades alone.

“It’s the way to get experience,” Rosen said. “Just being able to show when I do interviews after school and say, ‘here are the stories I wrote for the Times Union.’”

Even with all of the on-campus resources for acquiring internships, students like Chloe Samet ‘27 are still independently finding success and summer positions. Samet has a major in graphic design with a minor in studio art and will spend the summer with Fingerpaint Medical. The company provides communication and advertising for pharmaceutical companies. She looks forward to an introduction into the professional field of graphic design.

“I actually went about it on my own,” Samet said. 

After browsing sites like Indeed, Handshake and LinkedIn, she applied to a few positions and eventually heard back from Fingerpaint Group. 

After interviewing with both a recruiter and a graphic designer, Samet secured the position. She is excited to improve her skills and work in an environment with other professionals, obtaining a valuable insight into what graphic design is like outside of the school setting.

Even through the competitive nature of the internship application process, students say it is important to stay positive and persistent.

“You’ve just got to keep trying using leverage and connections,” Rosen said. “You just have to talk and put yourself out there to see what you can find. 

“I just kept applying in hopes that I would hear back,” Samet said. “I just recommend to keep applying.” Samet also noted the efficacy of Career Services in finding other students’ internship opportunities. 

Hottentot advocates for other students to be proactive and to stay connected throughout the process. 

“Never rule anything out,” Hottentot said. “As long as an internship title is something you are even remotely interested in, just apply. You never know exactly what you may want to do until you get the experience.”