November 08, 2023
Though summer may be the prime time for college students to complete an internship, valuable opportunities are available during the academic year too. The possibilities are endless: some intern during a semester abroad, some report to their internship in person and others follow a virtual or hybrid schedule. Students across Susquehanna University immerse themselves in real-world learning opportunities through internships that align with their academic interests and career goals. Here are a few that strengthened their résumés by combining an internship with their courses this fall.
Fighting media bias
Addison Yaukey ’25, a political science major from Knoxville, Maryland, interns with Biasly, a media bias agency that provides real-time bias ratings of news sources and their articles.
“Last semester, I took Media and Politics. I thought this class was super interesting, as it talked about how the media tends to manipulate politics with biases, gatekeeping and framing,” Yaukey said. “Biasly is trying to work against this with their Bias Meter, which is a Chrome extension you can download to your browser that will scan news articles you’re reading and determine if it has political bias in one way or another. This helps people recognize that what they are reading might not be as objective as they think, and makes them aware of the opinions, rather than facts, they might be consuming.”
At Biasly, Yaukey participates in a weekly training program through which she learns about different forms of bias and how to resist them in her daily life. She also reviews sentences and phrases from real news articles to power Biasly’s Bias Meter.
“We tend to think of the news media as something that tells us an important story, but this internship has shown me that this often isn’t the case,” Yaukey said. “I’m glad that I am becoming equipped with the tools to watch out for these biases in the news I’m consuming. Being a part of something that can also help people see these biases, like Biasly’s Bias Meter, is also rewarding as I know it will help people consume news more confidently.”
Yaukey is considering attending law school after graduating from Susquehanna.
“I have proven to myself that I can handle multiple responsibilities at once — this internship, being on the track and field team and handling the class load of a major and a minor — all while keeping up my grades,” Yaukey said. “Being able to manage many projects with organization and ease is always a skill employers are looking for.”
Answering the call to public service
“I have always felt called to public service, and wanted to help the community in any way I could. I most often viewed this through the lens of government work,” Reed said. “I knew this internship would provide me with an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the operations of the office and provide me with valuable government work experience.”
Reed handles data entry for the state office, collecting and entering into a database information from returned perception of care surveys the office distributes to consumers of publicly funded behavioral health services. Reed also reviews and categorizes individual comments left on surveys to ensure they are documented.
His internship is a hybrid format, allowing him to work from campus and the OMHSAS office in Commonwealth Towers in Harrisburg.
“The greatest lesson that I’ve learned throughout my internship experience has been about the complexity of government work,” Reed said. “There are many parts to play within every process, and all of them are incredibly important. Every position matters, even ones that people might not immediately consider.”
Upon graduating, Reed plans to pursue a graduate degree in political psychology or behavioral science.
Protecting investors through audit oversight
Accounting major Isabella Scappaticci ’24, of Wyoming, Pennsylvania, is interning with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a nonprofit organization that oversees the audits of public companies. The organization was created by Congress in 2002.
“I have always been interested in regulatory processes and have eventual career goals of working in forensic and anti-fraud accounting,” Scappaticci said. “My internship is a great opportunity to grow my knowledge in this field and gain a deeper understanding of the regulations of public audit firms. It has been a fantastic opportunity to see a different side of accounting.”
Scappaticci is conducting her internship remotely, assisting the organization by reviewing items to be brought before the board, including matters related to inspections and remediations. She has also had the opportunity to observe the enforcement and standards-setting processes for PCAOB-inspected firms.
“It has been a learning process managing an internship on top of my course load, but by working with my professors and the registrar’s office, I am able to receive credit for this internship and arrange my schedule in a way that allows me to fulfill all commitments,” Scappaticci said. “My experience has been incredibly rewarding. I am thrilled to be able to work with such a knowledgeable and experienced team, while also knowing my contributions matter.”
After graduation, Scappaticci plans to move to New York City to begin her career in public accounting as an audit associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers.