Another Great Summer for DO-IT Interns!

DO-IT Staff Scott Bellman and Tami Tidwell

Many students use the summer to relax and enjoy the sun, but it is also a great time for internships! Working during the summer offers students a chance to practice accommodations, network with professionals, try out jobs, and earn some extra money. Here are some examples of the internships of DO-IT participants in 2004:

  • assistive technology trainer for a public library
  • research position at a university for Global Information Systems
  • web design work at a speech pathology clinic
  • administrative assistant in an FAA engineering office
  • a position at the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency
  • four positions at Microsoft in software design and testing
  • analyst for Citigroup in New York City
  • computer assistant in the nonprofit sector
  • computer assistant for the City of Seattle
  • administrative assistant for the City of Seattle
  • health science recreational therapy aide
  • researcher in Washington, DC, working with the Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Nutrition
  • researcher in the Department of Public Health and Nutrition at the University of Washington
  • technical assistant for National Park Service
  • engineer for Medtronic Physio Control
  • interpreter for Whitman Mission National Historic Site
  • network administrator at the Portland Department of Environmental Quality
  • observing classes at Crescent Valley and Corvallis High School for engineering project at Oregon State University
  • chemistry lab assistant at the University of Idaho
  • associate at World Bank in Washington, DC

In addition to these paid internships, DO-IT participants completed several internships without pay. These included:

  • nine DO-IT Summer Study program staff internships
  • a trip to Japan to work on DO-IT international connections

Most students found their internships working with DO-IT staff members. Others worked with DO-IT partners such as ENTRYPOINT! (www.entrypoint.org), the Workforce Recruitment Program (www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/brochures/wrp1.html), and the American Association of People with Disabilities (www.aapd.com).

Supervisors had many positive things to say about their summer interns, such as:

"In all honesty, [our DO-IT Intern] is the most intelligent and enthusiastic undergraduate student I have ever worked with in my twenty-four years in academia. I look forward to continuing collaboration with her" and "I see this one hiring situation as a major breakthrough in hiring and it can be seen as a possible role model for other parks and programs."

All of these student interns have something new for their résumé and can count on their summer supervisors as future references and advocates. Congratulations to all of you on a job well done!