Students gathered in the Business Building on Thursday to learn more about internship opportunities available for minority students.
Hosted by Sigma Lambda Beta and the National Hispanic Business Association, the seminar aimed to make minority students more aware of ways they can obtain an internship.
Daniel Burnside, the president of the Latino-based multi-cultural fraternity, said he hopes the information provided will guide students in the right direction.
"When I came to this school I had no idea about this stuff," Burnside (senior-finance) said. "My advisor never told me anything. We're sort of taking it into our own hands."
Speakers at the seminar included students who have previous internship experience through organizations that find opportunities for minorities, including Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. Jamie Campbell, director of Diversity Enhancement at Smeal College of Business, also spoke to the group of about 20 students and stressed that it can be difficult to find opportunities in this economy regardless of your ethnicity.
"A lot of times people don't have the opportunity to talk to companies," Campbell said. "I think it's hard for students, period. In this economy it will be challenging."
Campbell also emphasized the importance of talking to a variety of people in order to get as much information as possible about landing an internship.
"You guys are getting ready to go into a global market," Campbell said. "Make the communication happen."
Alexis Rolla attended the internship seminar and said it was beneficial because she didn't have the most positive experience at the recent career fair at Penn State.
"I wasn't that successful," Rolla (junior-economics) said. "The career fair is intimidating and it wasn't that personal."
No matter how successful students are at acquiring internships, Burnside said that it's necessary to hold seminars that can inform minority students of opportunities.
"A lot of Hispanic people are first generation Americans," he said. "They don't have a mentor. We have a strong sense of responsibility to our community."
