Upskilling with Internships

One Beacon administrator’s advice to students? Don’t wait until your senior year to think about internships. Start as underclassmen.

“It’s a highly competitive environment today for every college student,” said Melissa Bradley, the director at Beacon College’s Center for Career Preparation. “So, start early, even small doses, and think about experiences whether it be local to your hometown area or while you’re working part-time on campus. Employers want to see how your experience has developed over time.”

To graduate, Beacon students need at least 80 hours of “experiential learning opportunities” which covers internships, volunteering and part-time jobs related to a student’s degree or career goals. Most Beacon students overachieve, completing an average of 99 hours, according to Bradley.

The college can’t place students directly into internships, but career advisors assist students in other ways. Beacon staff help with internship applications and guide students on understanding their rights and advocating for the accommodations they need to succeed in their new jobs.

Beacon connects students with the Big Interview platform, so students can practice video interviews and receive human and real-time artificial intelligence feedback to nail their real interviews.

The school is becoming a pipeline for talent and employers are taking notice. Beacon partners with big employers, such as the software company Oracle Corp., and works with search firms and economic leadership groups to connect students with work.

“They are recognizing Beacon College as a center for neurodiverse emerging talent that their companies will benefit from,” Bradley said.

Bradley tracks students who land impressive internships at private companies, nonprofits, schools — even the Ashia Cheetah Conservation in South Africa.

For McLaren, working at the Bronx Zoo this summer feels like a homecoming. He grew up 30 minutes from New York City and visited the zoo often as a kid. His parents took him to nature centers, farms, aquariums “and I’ve just been in love with animals since those fun experiences,” said McLaren whose childhood pets included bearded dragons, ferrets, tortoises, “you name it.”

McClaren found out he landed the Bronx Zoo job on Spring Break while he was visiting his girlfriend in Texas. “I was so excited. I even FaceTimed my family. They were jumping up and down,” he said.

McClaren already completed orientation before his job starts this month. He was briefed that he will primarily be stationed in the children’s zoo, which is home to a giant anteater, prairie dogs, a North American porcupine, alpacas and farm animals.

“I’m basically going to be showing people, kind of like an animal ambassador, and explaining to people about the different types of animals,” McLaren said.

His Bronx job is the latest achievement in McLaren’s resume that he’s been building for years. He previously volunteered at a nature center’s animal husbandry department which led to a job last summer working at a farm as a camp counselor where McLaren taught kids how to take care of the animals.

McLaren credited his Beacon classes on animal training, animal welfare and animal husbandry for preparing him. After he graduates in December, McLaren hopes he can work with African elephants, creatures that amaze him with their size and break his heart with their vulnerability from poachers.

“I really want to make an impact on that type of animal, because that animal means a lot to me,” McLaren said.