McKEESPORT, Pa. — Penn State Greater Allegheny is addressing the question of whether a college degree still leads to a stable, career-relevant job through a hands-on internship program that gives students meaningful professional experience before graduation.
While many college programs require internships, they are often completed as capstone experiences during a student’s final semester, leaving little time to build meaningful connections, gain industry experience or turn those opportunities into full-time jobs.
Penn State Greater Allegheny takes a different approach, introducing internship preparation in a student’s academic journey as early as the third and fourth semester to form partnerships that connect coursework with real-world application.
“Long gone is the old model of internships completed in the final semester as an afterthought or ending to a college experience,” said Rosemary Martinelli, assistant teaching professor of marketing and communications and director of campus internships at Greater Allegheny. “Our program is strategic and built on partnerships with employers; shaped by input from students, staff and faculty; and benchmarked against programs nationwide. We now have faculty and career and workforce professionals from around the country and Penn State campuses, too, asking how we run the program and could they replicate some of our processes, all to help their students.”
The program was featured at the Global Impact Forum, a three-day conference hosted by Penn State Outreach at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The annual event draws more than 500 educators, technologists, policymakers, funders and employers to discuss workforce readiness in the age of artificial intelligence and automation.
Keynote speakers included Penn State Greater Allegheny Regional Chancellor Megan Nagel; former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis; Roberto Clemente Jr., son of the late Pittsburgh Pirates legend; entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” investor Mark Cuban; and former NASA astronaut Charles Camarda.
Greater Allegheny business majors Emma Gatto, Alexander Mann and Bjorn Sigurdsson joined Rachel White, development and communications manager for South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM), to present “The Recipe for Internship Success,” a session showcasing how early, structured internships are shaping students’ confidence and career paths.
All three students, while earning the same degree, spoke of how their internship experiences were varied and brought them unexpected learning that has helped to shape their future pathways.
Sigurdsson said his internship helped him discover a passion for website design and photography. Before the experience, he had planned to pursue a career in technology or pharmaceutical sales, but now hopes to work in marketing for a ski resort. During his internship, Sigurdsson was given the freedom to evaluate a company’s digital presence and apply his classroom knowledge to real-world projects.
“I wasn’t always being told what to do,” he said. “I was changing something on my own from the skills I had gained at Penn State.”
Alexander Mann said the experience made a clear difference in his growth as both a student and a soon-to-be professional.
“Whether it was the panel or my internship, it has prepared me for what the real world has to offer,” he said.
Through his internship, Mann learned what professionalism looks like in practice.
“Whether it was dealing with customers or with someone within the organization, it allowed me to experience firsthand what the workplace is like and what will be expected once I graduate,” Mann said.