The recruiting game is heating up at Beacon College. Recently, another out-of-state organization came calling on campus looking for prospective interns.
United for a Fair Economy (UFE), a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit group that supports social movements working for a resilient, sustainable, and equitable economy, graced Beacon’s Leesburg campus for two days in late October as part of an on-campus recruiting blitz.
“Beacon College is invested in recruiting leading organizations from the private, public and nonprofit sectors to provide a balanced mix of internship and job opportunities for our students,” said Esteban Lopez, Beacon’s director of corporate and academic outreach. “This prestigious organization … creates a unique opportunity for Beacon students who want to pursue a career in the non-profit world.”
It is a broad and populous field. More than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations currently operate in the United States, according to The National Center for Charitable Statistics. This includes public charities, private foundations, chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations, civic leagues and other nonprofit organizations. Florida is home to nearly 110,000 nonprofits.
“Nonprofits nowadays provide rewarding career paths with greater degrees of flexibility when it comes to work schedules, accommodations, and more, Lopez said, “making this a vibrant segment of the job market.”
Interns serving the Boston-based UFE will perform data entry, fundraise, participate in advocate training sessions, conduct research on economic inequality, and learn cutting-edge economic models in the heart of the city’s financial and theater districts.
On October 25, Jeannette Huezo, executive director and senior popular educator, spoke to nearly a dozen students about opportunities to support the group’s mission that it advances through tools such as its “Economics for Everyone” workshops and training for movement leaders.
The following day, she interviewed six students.
One student will earn a summer internship in Boston. UFE will offer another student a two-week internship this December in Boston supporting its year-end fundraising campaign. Students will be immersed in UFE’s fast-paced culture and actively engage in staff meetings and UFE programs.
The college’s intensified emphasis on internships — boosting opportunities, variety, and quality — will serve students well, Lopez said.
“In an increasingly interdisciplinary world, where workforce-bound students are required more than ever to draw their knowledge and experience from several fields, a progressively more diverse pool of organizations provides the perfect environment for Beacon College students to develop their critical thinking skills across boundaries,” he said.