{"id":281576,"date":"2026-09-08T16:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T16:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/281576\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T16:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T16:56:10","slug":"business-internship-presentations-connect-classroom-learning-to-career-readiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/281576\/","title":{"rendered":"Business internship presentations connect classroom learning to career readiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Student Ava Janny completed a marketing internship with Lehigh Valley Style magazine<\/a> after pursuing the opportunity for nearly a year. When she did not find a formal internship application, she contacted the magazine directly and continued reaching out to members of its team until she secured an interview.<\/p>\n

As an intern, Janny managed the magazine\u2019s wedding-focused Instagram account, wrote weekly \u201cThings to Do\u201d articles, researched local weddings for possible publication, and assisted with events including the Best of the Lehigh Valley Party and Influential Women event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most enjoyable part was the event planning,\u201d Janny said. \u201cThe chaos was stressful at times, but seeing the event come together and everyone having a great time made it so rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janny said the experience strengthened her independence, time management, communication and self-discipline while giving her greater confidence in a professional environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe courses I took at Penn State gave me the knowledge to perform well during my internship, and the internship itself gave me a newfound confidence,\u201d Janny said. \u201cI learned that building connections opens new doors, and what a privilege it is to be the youngest person in a room and still have a seat there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kellie Provost-Brown<\/a>, career strategist for Career Strategy and Advising, served as one of the presentation evaluators. She said students frequently cited communication and professionalism as particularly important to their success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork-based learning opportunities are one of the best ways for students to explore careers,\u201d Provost-Brown said. \u201cAn internship can solidify their interest in a career or help them recognize what they do not want in a future role. Either outcome gives students valuable information as they make decisions about their futures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the students reported positive internship experiences, and several planned to remain with their employers by extending their internships or accepting full-time positions.<\/p>\n

Students found their opportunities in a variety of ways, including personal networking, direct outreach and connections made through the annual Penn State Lehigh Valley Business, Technology and Engineering Career Fair<\/a>. Career Strategy also supported students with their internship searches, r\u00e9sum\u00e9s and interviews. The 2026 Career Fair will be held on Oct. 22.<\/p>\n

Capofari credited faculty and staff across the campus with helping students prepare for their internships and presentations. He also has incorporated insights from colleagues across Penn State\u2019s Commonwealth Campuses since forming a group of faculty members who teach internship courses after he was assigned the course in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is great support from the faculty and staff \u2014 the villagers, as I call them \u2014 who help raise a student,\u201d Capofari said. \u201cTheir support is invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Internships are just one part of Penn State Lehigh Valley\u2019s broader commitment to experiential learning<\/a> as a way to enhance the student experience and prioritize student success. Through work-based learning and other initiatives that connect coursework with employers, community partners and real-world challenges, students can explore career paths, build professional relationships, and apply what they learn in ways that prepare them for success before and after graduation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Student Ava Janny completed a marketing internship with Lehigh Valley Style magazine after pursuing the opportunity for nearly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-281576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}