“More and more we are seeing college students who WANT to go on Summer Staff but NEED to do an internship. We can help them solve this dilemma. Utilizing Summer Staff as an internship will take our summer staff experience to the next level...” –Cat Ryden, Divisional Coordinator for YL College, Central Southern Division
Is Summer Staff still a viable option considering what students have gone through the last 2+ years?
YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES. In fact, the need is even greater for them to serve and their need inside them is even greater still. Summer Staff could be what they need to unleash who they are, and set them on a course for following Jesus the rest of their life.
“I really have to do an internship this summer.”
Have you ever been told this when you are talking to a college student about Summer Staff? Me too. It seems like unpaid internships (free labor for companies) have been increasing each year and now they are hypercompetitive due to COVID shutting many internship opportunities down.
What if we could say: “I’m so glad you said that. I have the perfect internship for you…and I bet you’re having trouble finding one..”
More often than not, the Summer Staff experience has all the required components of an internship. And so much more! We know how special this experience is. Discipleship, sacrificial service, leadership growth, supervisory skills, a front row seat to many kids deciding to follow Jesus, hard work, teamwork and team building, community, and much, much more are all part of this adventure.
Summer Staff can most likely count as an internship for an employer, university, program, etc.
We need to be flexible. Creative. Innovative. And take the initiative.
So here’s the plan:
STEP 1: Have your potential student find out exactly what is required by your student’s internship
Requirements vary greatly from school to school, job to job, and program to program. Some have almost no requirements and some have stringent standards.
STEP 2: Send your student this guide and see if you together, with integrity, can craft the Summer Staff experience and description to fulfill the requirements of the internship.
STEP 3: If there is a specific job that would help with the internship requirements, request that job for your student by calling the camp and the summer staff coordinator. (no guarantees, but make sure that the camp knows that this is a factor)
STEP 4: Look at this short Summer Staff recruiting best practices list and rally your best students.
Thank you for having a vision for who kids could be.
Thank you for going the extra mile to help kids have the experience of a lifetime on Summer Staff.
Thank you for making that extra phone call, sending that extra text, and going after those “internship” kids.
“Community. Adventure. Significance. It’s who we are and what our college friends need. They get it all and more on Summer Staff.” –Cat Ryden
Bonus Resource: Resumer Building Tips After Doing Summer Staff
Written by: Pete Hardesty