What to consider when choosing
a recreation internship

by James M. Glover, Ph.D.

EVERYBODY SEEMS TO AGREE THAT THE INTERNSHIP IS one of the most important educational experiences in undergraduate curriculums for parks and recreation. By internship, I mean a full-time, semester-long, professional experience at a bonafide park and recreation agency. It is usually the culminating experience for the park and recreation student, and often occurs in the senior year.

As a park and recreation educator, I have been helping students set up internships for 12 years. Most college programs, in my experience, give students a large say in their selections. This, I believe, is good, but I am often surprised at how casually many students go about their selections. They often choose agencies for the wrong reasons and they often overlook the more important factors. The following are, in my experience, the top 12 factors that students ordinarily consider, or should consider, when choosing an internship. The factors are listed from least preferable to most preferable. If you are a recreation undergraduate, I hope you will consider these carefully.

Reason 12: Agency is willing to take you

This is possibly the most common reason and, unfortunately, often the only reason, why students choose an internship. It is the preferred factor of students who have either put off the search for their internship or lack confidence. Taken by itself, this is the least recommended reason. Remember that in most cases internship agencies want you. The situation is different from applying for a full-time job, then there are often several dozen candidates. Many agencies only have one or two candidates for an internship position for any given semester. So it is a "buyer's market" for the student. You don't have to jump at the first agency willing to take you. Unfortunately, many students often do.

Reason 11: Proximity to interesting attractions

This is another often-used reason why students choose intern- ships. It is good as a secondary consideration. It is not generally advised, however, as a primary consideration. Examples of such attractions might include skiing in Colorado, mountain-sheep hunting in Alaska, or watching Bulls basketball games in Chicago. It can be very alluring to imagine yourself in an internship position where some great recreational attraction is right across the street.

But if this becomes a primary consideration, you are probably not giving yourself the best opportunity to make your internship a key item in your career development.

Reason 10: Proximity to girlfriend, boyfriend or fiancee.

Here I would like to relate a true story about a friend of mine whose name has been changed to protect his innocence. Let's call him Gerry Mander. Gerry, during his senior year, arranged to do his recreation internship at a YMCA at a small town in upstate New York very close to his sweetheart, who at that time was enrolled at the Solvay, New York, School of Beauty. The internship was to be in the fall semester. Gerry set it up during the previous spring semester. However, over the summer, Gerry's girlfriend, who I will call Moon Beam, went to a Grateful Dead concert without Gerry, and while enjoying the concert, fell in love with a candle-maker from Schnectady. Moon Beam and the candle-maker were married within the next four months. As a matter of fact, they were married before Gerry finished his internship at the local YMCA.

There is nothing wrong with doing an internship at the YMCA. However, Gerry's primary interest was actually in park management and outdoor recreation. He wound up doing an internship that was not to his best benefit.

I am not here to tell you that your personal life should be subjugated entirely to your professional life. One of the most difficult things in life is to find the right balance between your personal and professional life. However, the story of Gerry and his internship happens more times than you might think. Perhaps Gerry should have been willing to be a bit farther away from Moon Beam for the short time of his internship. He might have been able to sustain the relationship just as well as he did (possibly better) and still get the best internship for his interest.

Reason 9: Perks

"Perks" is a commonly used slang word for perquisites. Perquisites are extra considerations outside of salary that often make a job more attractive than it otherwise might be. For an internship, perks often include such things as lodging, board, or perhaps some benefits such as a ticket to an occasional ballgame. These are very good secondary considerations. Free room and board, in particular, can often make an internship affordable. If at

Illinois Parks and Recreation 18 March/April 1991

all possible, perks should not be a primary factor.

Reason 8: Pay

Whether you get paid, and how much you get paid, arc also excellent secondary factors to consider in choosing an internship. Like perks, pay may make the difference between whether you can afford an intership or not. Many agencies in the past 10 years have come to realize that being able to offer a small stipend and certain perks can give them a competitive edge when recruiting interns. Most university curriculums now allow students to receive pay for their internships. Again, I believe you must use caution when you begin to consider pay as a criterion for choosing an internship. If other things are equal, then an internship that pays is better than one that docs not. But other factors which we will consider should be put first.

Reason 7: The work itself is appealing and challenging.

We now enter the realm of what should be primary considerations for students choosing internships. Most likely, you have chosen parks and recreation as a career in the first place because the work itself sounded appealing and challenging. You have in your internship the opportunity to choose a job that is almost exactly the kind of work that you think you would like to do. You may never have such an opportunity again. When looking over a possible internship, you should especially beware of agencies that may want to use you as a free or inexpensive gofer, janitor or secretary. A certain amount of menial work can be extremely educational and should be included. However, the entire experience should not be menial work. You want an agency that will give you challenging and interesting work in the area that you feel most excites you right now. When you are done you will then have a better idea of whether that type of work is in fact what you want to do. And that itself is a major educational result of an internship.

Reason 6: Potential for a job at the same agency afterwards

This is a good reason, but I do not rank it as highly as the ones that will follow because it is not common. There arc a few unusual situations where permanent employment is likely if you make good on your internship. If you have reason to believe this is the case, and the agency is in the type of work that you most feel you would like to do, then go ahead and choose that internship.

Reason 5: Agency is well-known and highly respected.

We arc getting now into the very most important criteria. If you can get an internship with a highly respected agency, it will help you greatly when you go after your first full-time, permanent position. The agency's name will stand out on your resume and will probably help get you an interview. I will not mention any specific agencies here, because it would be unfair to those that I do not mention. Many agencies have won national recognition in the Gold Medal Award Program sponsored by the National Sporting Goods Association. You can find out about such agencies by asking around at conferences and by reading professional magazines and journals.

Reason 4: The agency supervisor and other personnel are active in professional organizations

Active professional involvement is an excellent indicator of professionalism and interest in the field. Involvement also means that quite probably the agency has a good reputation. It further suggests that your agency supervisor is not burned out or coasting along, but is interested in the field. And finally, it almost guarantees your agency supervisor will be able to help you meet people in the field at conferences, workshops and meetings.

Reason 3: The agency has a structured intern program

Any agency that has a structured internship program is an agency that has given previous thought to what it wants from an intern and what it has to offer. Specific things to look for include an internship manual and a specific orientation procedure. The agency should be willing to take the time to give you a thorough orientation to its programs and services. There should be a fairly structured schedule — or at least a structure to develop the schedule during the first couple of weeks — for your internship. Look for an agency that has such a structure.

Reason 2: The agency supervisor has a degree in parks and/or recreation

A supervisor that has gone through the same college experience you have, will empathize with you. Such a supervisor is more than likely willing to spend time, to coach you, to share his or her experiences with you. A supervisor with a degree in a related field will probably give you a similar experience, but the probability is just a bit less that he or she will empathize very well with you. A supervisor that does not have a bachelor's degree at all may be willing and able to give you a high quality internship experience, but the probability this will happen is much less. Look for a supervisor that can really relate to what you are going through. By the end of your internship you will be happy that you did. (NOTE; Therapeutic recreation students who seek certification are required to do an internship under a certified therapeutic recreation specialist.)

Reason 1: The agency has high quality programs, services and/or facilities

You will learn the most from an internship by seeing things done right. I have had students begin internships and then learn that the agency is not especially effective. I have had students say to me, "Well, I'm learning a lot, at least in terms of how NOT to do a program." That is true enough. But there are a billion ways to do things wrong and learning how to do something wrong gives no guarantee that you will therefore know how to do it right. What you want to do more than anything else is get yourself into an agency where you see things done right. In such an agency, you can really develop the professional skills that will enable you to perform at a high level throughout your career. There is also an excellent chance that an agency that does things right meets reasons number two, three, four, and five.

Students considering internships are about to make a decision that will have a major significance for the rest of their lives. There are any number of agencies in every specialty that meet my top five criteria and that meet several of the others. If you make a good choice for an internship agency, you will learn professional skills. You will be treated like a professional and yet with extra concern and interest. You will be in a good position to look for a permanent full-time job when you finish. You will have a better chance of spending your career in work that is challenging and exciting, and you will get the most from your investment in a college education.

About the Author:

Dr. James M. Glover is assistant professor in the recreation department at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He has supervised several hundred students involved in recreation field experiences.

This article was reprinted with permission of Cornerstone, the NRPA student branch.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 19 March/April 1991