Student Programs at ACT
Student Programs
In addition to a more traditional summer internship program, ACT offers non-traditional internships. Some of those opportunities have included partnering with the University of Iowa REACH program for students with intellectual and cognitive disabilities, Kirkwood’s Creating Futures Program for young adults and their Workplace Learning Connections for high school students.
ACT has also partnered with the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships program by hosting a teacher from our community. For 5-6 weeks in the summer the teacher applies classroom content to projects. We benefited from a skilled, motivated worker and the teacher benefited by seeing how their content is applied in the “real world,” bringing relevance to their classroom, and learning career opportunities for their students.
“I think my ‘a-ha moment’ was when I was sitting in a meeting and adding input to one of the projects being discussed. I loved how even though I was an intern, my input was valued and brought forward into the project. I felt as though I was a member of the team, which is notable when the majority of my coworkers have their PhD or Master’s degree.”
Summer Internship Program
Helping people achieve success starts right on our own campus.
We support students in their transition to the workforce by providing hands-on experience through our annual internship program. The program allows graduate and undergraduate students to work in their field and potentially gain full-time employment based on performance and ACT organization growth.
We also offer a very generous perks for our interns, including:
- Paired with a mentor / Networking outside of their current team
- Projects specific to their field
- Sessions with Executive Leaders across the organization
- Work with recruiters on resume writing, mock interviews, and job offer negotiations
- Project Showcase at the end of the program shared across the organization
ACT plans intern-specific events that truly make our internship program rewarding and unique. At the end of every internship term, we hold a project showcase that gives our interns the chance to exhibit their hard work to team members across ACT. In addition to interns sharing the work they accomplished during their ten-week internship, it also shows other areas in our organization the potential opportunities when hosting an intern and gives a chance for them to make professional connections with students.
Requirements:
- Undergraduate: open to juniors or seniors
- Graduate: must show completion of advanced coursework in area of study
- Grade point average must be 2.8 or above on a 4.0 scale
Applicants must:
- Demonstrate leadership capabilities
- Exhibit excellence in and motivation for learning
- Embrace empowerment and innovation
- Support diversity of people and ideas
- Value and respond to the needs of the customer
Why An Internship?
Valuable Experience
An internship is one of the best ways to gain all-important job experience. Students who apply for internships want to gain relevant work experience and exposure in their fields of study – which can give them an advantage over their peers.
Establish Networking Connections
An internship involves learning through experience – an opportunity that offers students an invaluable chance to network and build crucial professional connections before they even graduate. Meeting people in the professional world with the same interest, helps professional growth.
More Than Just Technical Skills
Sharpening one’s competence is a major benefit of an internship but building character in the workplace is an equally valuable advantage. Personal attributes like integrity, commitment, and self-motivation are traits that are important to potential employers and could be learned through an internship.
Learn More About Yourself
Internships are the perfect place to learn, test skills, and grow personally and professionally. Working in a real-world environment gives you a better understanding of what the work is about and can help you determine whether it is a career path you want to continue pursuing.
“As a content marketing intern, one of the coolest moments was having a success story that I wrote and designed published within the first two weeks of the program. It was so exciting to tell my family that my work was on ACT's website and available to the public! It really felt like I was doing meaningful work that contributed to the team's marketing successes.”
Why ACT?
- Top 100 Internship Programs 2019
- Competetively paid 10-week internship
- Meaningful projects with dedicated mentors
- Professional development opportunities
- Summer Fridays allow for fun group outings
- Creative Class ranked Iowa City as a second "best cities for College Grads"
- Workforce Award from the Corridor Business Journal int he Best Internship Program for College Students Category
“My experience as an ACT intern was an extremely rewarding experience. Typically, when you think of internships, students think they will be doing small tasks or the work that other employees didn't want to do. This wasn't the case at ACT, as I got to be a part of ongoing projects that had departmental and company impact, as well as start my own projects.”