President's Leadership Program

Internships are one of the most effective ways to gain experience and insights into professional life after college. Through internships, you can enhance your professional network, gain a better appreciation for the types of opportunities in a field and obtain a foundation for starting your career. More specifically, internships provide an excellent opportunity to see how organizations operate and apply leadership theories and concepts to address challenges.

For the purposes of the PLP, an internship is an experiential learning opportunity and a chance to observe and/or participate in a professional environment. This is a chance to take lessons learned in the classroom and apply them to a real-world experience. While the experience itself is incredibly valuable, there is also great value that comes from the reflection after the fact. Although it may be beneficial to have an internship in your field of study, you have the flexibility to choose an opportunity that is in any area of interest. We encourage you to consider opportunities that will allow you to challenge yourself.

The internship that you complete during your time in the PLP can take many forms. Some examples of previous internships that have been completed include: shadowing a medical professional, orientation leader, tour guide at a historical site, employment at a government agency, camp counselor and various other opportunities.

To be considered an internship for the PLP, an internship must meet the following criteria:

• minimum of 120 hours in length (roughly equivalent to working full-time for 3 weeks)
• completed in a maximum of 12 months, during your time at CNU
• completed with one internship placement (For example, you may not complete 60 hours with one organization, then 60 hours with another organization and consider it one internship.)
• supervised by someone other than an immediate family member
• documented with the appropriate protocol.

Complete the three required forms to successfully document your internship experience with PLP. All forms can be found on the PLP Scholar page.

1. Internship Information Form: This form lets the PLP Staff know where/when the internship will take place, the type of work being done and contact information for the internship supervisor.
2. Supervisor Evaluation Form: Students are responsible for sharing this form with their supervisor and ensuring it is completed. This is an opportunity for the supervisor to provide feedback on the student’s performance and tell us more about their experience.
3. Post-Internship Reflection Form: This reflection is intended to help students make meaning of their experience and connect back to the mission of PLP.

Check the PLP Scholar page under the Program Progress tab to monitor the completion of this requirement.

If you feel you are able to better understand how an organization operates and see leadership in action, absolutely! In our experience, most part-time jobs fit into this category.

Your internship can be paid or unpaid – whichever makes the most sense for you.

No. You only have to log one internship during your time in PLP. However, some students opt to log multiple internships because it provides a guided process to receive feedback and make meaning of your experience.

Since you were not enrolled at CNU, an internship experience before attending the institution will not count toward your PLP requirement.

As long as it fits the requirements outlined above, you are able to double count the internship to fulfill the PLP requirements as well.

The supervisor evaluation form and post-internship reflection only need to be completed one time. The discretion of when you want to complete the forms is up to you. We have found that it is popular for students to submit the two forms halfway through their experience at the end of a semester to receive feedback or at the end of their internship all together.

Since this is a new system, PLP is working to be flexible. If you completed an internship during Summer 2017, you will still complete the three forms.

If you completed an internship before Summer 2017, documentation requirements will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please contact PLP at preslead@cnu.edu for further clarification for your specific needs.

Students are encouraged to utilize the Center for Career Planning and their Academic Advisors if they need assistance in finding an internship opportunity.

If you have questions or concerns regarding internship requirements or reporting, please contact the President’s Leadership Program at preslead@cnu.edu.