Maintaining and growing a strong internship program requires recognizing potential challenges and collaborating on ways to overcome them, the record audience at the recent Lehigh Valley Internship Summit learned.

Held at DeSales University on July 23, the summit was presented by Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) in partnership with the Lehigh Valley’s colleges and universities. 

One of LVEDC’s top priorities is building partnerships to create strategies that develop talent for the region’s employers. That work includes connecting educators with employers to foster internships.

During a session titled, “Building a Talent Pipeline: Growth of our Internship Program,”  Andrea Reger, Manager of Career Navigation at St. Luke’s University Health Network, shared how St. Luke’s has addressed common challenges of running an internship program.

Cost

There is a cost to internships, including intern compensation, but there are ways to counterbalance those costs and stay within departmental budgets, Reger said.

“If our goal is to convert our interns, internship costs are upfront, but later down the line, those are cost savings opportunities, because there's less recruitment time and dollars needed,” she said.

Interns are performing work that must get done, but the cost to employ an intern is less than a comparable full-time employee, especially if the intern is retained for future employment with the network. 

And with opportunity to extend a summer internship in a reduced schedule during the academic school year, the value of an intern’s contributions can extend long past the summer months. About half of this summer’s interns at St. Luke’s will be working through the fall and spring, for an additional six months to 12 months.

Internship management

Successful internships require support from supervisors, and mentorship opportunities. It may not be possible for an intern’s direct manager to perform all those roles, Reger said.

At St. Luke’s, the Career Navigation department handles many duties including providing professional development and networking opportunities. And Career Champions, employees who work in the intern’s department and throughout the organization, take on informal mentorship roles.

Professional Development

St. Luke’s uses a combination of formal and informal settings, both on site and off site, to help interns develop skills and make professional contacts. The key is to develop a plan that provides meaningful experiences, “things they can literally talk about in future interviews, put on their resume,” Reger said.

At St. Luke’s, interns participate in lunch-and-learns and skill building workshops. They visit St. Luke’s School of Nursing to learn about the health network’s long-standing history. On Intern Impact Day, they volunteer in the Lehigh Valley community to support non-profit organizations. And interns are connected with current employees who got their start at St. Luke’s via internships, so they can ask questions about their career paths and decision-making process.

“Our goal is that every intern leaves with a really good understanding of what the Network as a whole looks like for career paths and has some specific advice based on their individual career interests so they can decide what they want to do next,” Reger said.

About 150 people attended the Lehigh Valley Internship Summit, which also included:

• A keynote address by Carly Chase, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and a Vice President at U.S. News & World Report, who shared information about what interns are seeking from their internship experience.
• A panel discussion about managing internships.
• A panel discussion about growing use of artificial intelligence in business and education, how employers are leveraging AI in the workplace, and the skills that today’s students bring to the table
• A presentation on how small businesses can start internship programs.
• Roundtable discussions on key topics for successful internship programs.

Crayola was Presenting Sponsor of the 7^th Annual Internship Summit. DeSales University was Host Sponsor. Moravian University was a Gold Sponsor. Silver Sponsors were Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania; Muhlenberg College; Northampton Community College; St. Luke's University Health Network; Univest Financial; and Victaulic.

LVEDC’s talent work is made possible by the generous support of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Summit participants received the latest edition of the Internship Resource Guide, published annually by LVEDC to share information about internship programs, how to create and evaluate a program, and current trends in programs. It includes a directory of the region’s colleges, universities, and career and technical schools.

(Photos by Marco Calderon Photography)