Alicia Pepe has joined our community as Siena’s new internship coordinator and I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to sit down with her! With her friendly demeanor and enthusiastic attitude, Alicia has a ton of new ideas for Siena’s internship program and can’t wait to continue working with Siena students.
Hometown: Troy, NY
Favorite food: Pizza (the more stuff on it the better!)
Favorite books: A Tale of Two Cities, The Red Tent, There’s Life After College
Her Campus: You just began working for Siena as the new internship coordinator in the fall! What’s that been like so far?
Alicia Pepe: It’s been great! I’ve just been so impressed with the students at Siena and the school in general, so it’s really special being a part of the campus. I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to learn about not only the campus and the students, but talking to faculty coordinators and the Career Education and Professional Development about the current internship program. Week by week, I’ve found that there are internships that take place at several different places on campus and even though I’ve been here for only ten weeks, it’s really been a listening and learning process to see what’s needed.
HC: What first attracted you to the position of Internship Coordinator?
AP: So, I spent most of my career at GE and Sabic Innovative Plastics, and I loved my time in corporate America, so to speak. We also lived in New Jersey for twelve years and when we moved back here eight years ago, I had taken some time out of the work forced to raise our three children and I wanted to get back into work! There was a position that opened at the Sage Colleges as the Director of Alumni Relations, so I did that for a few years and got bitten by the “higher ed” bug. This position is kind of the perfect marriage between my corporate life and the higher education field, so it really has been a nice fit for me.
HC: What has been the most rewarding part of working with student interns? What has been the most difficult?
AP: I think the most rewarding part has been just meeting with the students and figuring out what they want to do and trying to match them with the right internship. Exploring with them and seeing what they want to do really has been great. So many students come in and it seems so daunting and overwhelming to them and it’s such an exciting time in life and I really try to point that out to them. They’re embarking on their career and there really is value in doing an internship that you may not want to do. The most difficult part of working with students is when I have seniors come in saying that they wish that they had started pursuing internships sooner. I’ve had even sophomores and juniors come in who don’t have a resume, so I would say the earlier you can start looking and preparing for an internship, the better.
HC: What are your biggest goals as Internship Coordinator?
AP: My biggest goal is to provide some clarity to the internship program here on campus and to define an internship and what it may look like. I want to be able to provide some guidelines with which to work in as well.
HC: Is there anything you would like students to know about finding an on-campus internship?
AP: The on campus internships are a great experience. Since I’ve been here and talked to some of the students about the challenges that they have, one of the biggest ones is transportation. There are students who cannot physically get to the internship sites, so I think taking advantage of these on campus opportunities would resolve that problem. I would rather students do an on campus internship than not do an internship at all. I would also recommend that they keep an eye on Career Saint so that they are aware of all options.
HC: What advice would you give to seniors who are starting the job application process?
AP: Do your homework and use your network! Using your network is equally as important, don’t be afraid to start a conversation with someone.
HC: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
AP: County Cork, Ireland.