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Students show passion and drive to obtain internshipsConnections are made every day at Thunderbird. Students connect with other students, teachers, alumni and campus visitors to develop their careers. T-birds also have opportunities to network with potential employers through the Thunderbird speaker series, during Winterims and at career fairs. While the Career Management Center has many resources for students to obtain internships, students often take their own approach to landing that perfect internship.

Joanna Hamby received a six-month internship with FINCA Tajikistan by writing an introductory e-mail to an alum who works for FINCA International. She found the alum’s contact information on Thunderbird’s intranet, My Thunderbird. After a great phone conversation, the alum passed her resume around to the different FINCA offices, and Hamby had an internship offer within a month.

“I highly recommend other Thunderbirds to investigate the alumni network, see who's out there and what Thunderbird alums are doing all over the world,” Hamby says. “If you happen to find an alum who is in the region you are interested in and the field you are hoping to go into, contact that person! Even if they don't offer you an internship, you will at least know more about that field than before you talked to him/her.”

Anneliese Mueller always knew she wanted to make a career in fueling economic development in developing countries. At the start of her internship search, she targeted private equity firms that invest in emerging markets and found the Global Environment Fund. She applied for an internship and noticed the CEO was attending the Thunderbird Global Private Equity Conference on campus. She made sure to speak to the CEO at the conference and was told about a new fund the GEF was starting later in the summer. The CEO passed along contact information of the woman running the new fund. Mueller called her, received an interview and then an internship offer. All this came from a short conversation on campus.

Pamela Lin worked as an intern this summer for CNN in Atlanta. Her internship was made possible from a Thunderbird Global Council member who she met on campus. Of course, not anyone can get an internship at CNN. Lin has experience in news reporting and aspires to become a financial news journalist. Lin has received multiple internship offers while at Thunderbird. Reuters made one offer while Lin attended a media conference recommended by the Career Management Center. Another offer came from Bloomberg’s Dubai bureau after Lin met a reporter while on the Dubai Winterim. 

According to the Career Management Center, 199 students have reported internships in 2008, compared to 106 last year. Thunderbird has interns in 18 countries with an average monthly salary of $5,739. Along with help from the Career Management Center, networking plays a large role in landing internships. Some connections are made in the most unlikely of places but can lead to a lifetime of success.