Sterling Terrain V02 - Flipbook - Page 47
Sterling College | 45
“The highest compliment we could pay is to say that we
would have total confidence in leaving the entire farm
temporarily in her hands. What knowledge she may lack,
she had the resources to acquire, and the judgment to
discern when assistance should be sought.”
-from a 1988 supervisor evaluation
This gave them early on clarification in
what they wanted to further pursue in
their education, or in what they did not
want. Supervising organizations were
amazed and impressed at students’
knowledge and work ethic after only one
year of college.”
Jennifer echoes this sentiment: “I loved
watching the students progress through
the stages of an internship and tip their
seesaw of learning as they gained confidence and the trust of their supervisors
and became valuable employees that
many hosts were sad to see go Week 10.”
Work Search and Writing & Communications courses were created to be bookend experiences, enhancing emphasis
on job seeking skills andprofessional
presentation of the work experience.
Evolution
Although Practicum in Environmental
Stewardship is no longer a graduation
requirement, it continues to be offered,
and internships remain strongly encouraged for all students and a requirement for the Outdoor Education major.
In addition, new models have evolved,
providing new opportunities: Many students pursue internships not for credit,
and the Sterling farm now offers hybrid
internship experiences based on the
academic internship model. After forty
years, the spirit of the internship program remains.
Both Jennifer and Diane point to student growth as the primary benefit of
Sterling internships. From Diane’s perspective, “the most enjoyable part of the
experience was watching the growth
and maturity of these young people as
they discovered their own accomplishments through formulating resumes
(some of them) facing fears of the unknown or sometimes on their first real
‘job,’ dealing with workplace struggles
or homesickness, and then standing up
in front of the entire Sterling community
and others, telling about their organization with a sense of ownership and their
experiences with a sense of pride.
It was like I was the parent of hundreds,
on their way to becoming wonderful,
productive adults. It’s very powerful to
see the alums who are currently working
in professions directly related to their internships, or even hired full time by their
sponsoring organization!”
“It is by these hands-on opportunities that we no longer hear
a different drummer but become the drummer ourselves.”
-from a 1990 student reflection paper