Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Internship Spotlight: Jennifer Minerva


By Jennifer Minerva, FCRH 2016

Seeking a summer internship in policy research, I scoured Fordham’s Career Services website which led to me to many available research positions at several companies. One position that caught my eye was the Education Policy and Programs Internship with RMC Research-New York. I have always had an interest in education policy, specifically with parent and community engagement initiatives. RMC Research has offices across the country in California, Oregon, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, New Hampshire, and New York. RMC offers evaluation services, professional development, consulting, and technical assistance to its many clients including the federal government, non-profits, private businesses, and foundations. While doing research on the company, I found that the New York office focuses on parent and family involvement strategies, the area of research I am particularly interested in. I sent in my resume, cover letter, and writing sample, and patiently waited for a response.

After two rounds of interviews and a writing activity, I was offered the position of Education Policy and Programs Intern for the summer of 2014. RMC gave me the flexibility to choose my own schedule and hours, as long as completed 275 hours by the end of summer. On the first day of my internship, I was assigned three research projects to work on throughout the summer. I worked on curating and vetting resources for RMC’s Parent Central website, maintaining the Virtual Advanced Placement Webinar Series platform, and supporting the collection of universal broadband research. These three projects allowed me to expand my knowledge on community engagement initiatives as well as gain exposure to professional learning communities sustained by online platforms and the challenges municipalities face in providing universal broadband access. I worked directly with research associates and other interns to achieve my goals and complete each project to the best of my ability.

As a result of my internship experience, I am more certain of what opportunities I want to pursue next. RMC gave me the opportunity to not only grow as a professional, but grow as a person. I am very fortunate for the skills I have gained and people that I have met.

Thank you RMC Research-New York for a fulfilling summer both professionally and personally.

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