Lourdes College

4/18/2010

At Lourdes College, internships are developed not only to provide students with a valuable skill-set and experience in their field, but also as a way to offer support to the greater community. Senior accounting and finance student Jennifer Fiedler's work with Mary Immaculate School is a perfect example of Lourdes' internship mantra.

As a marketing intern with Mary Immaculate, Jennifer is championing the mission of the school by promoting its strong academic curriculum featuring Sensory Integration and Social Skills classes.

Mary Immaculate is a school designed specifically for students with learning disabilities and students who struggle in the traditional classroom setting. The school provides students with the opportunity to be successful in a caring environment. Through her internship, Jennifer is making sure this message reaches the public.

Working alongside Mary Immaculate's Principal Shelli Staudt, Jennifer is helping build a brand for the school in order to showcase its talented staff and many remarkable programs.

“We want the public to know that the heart and soul that is so abundant at Mary Immaculate comes directly from the care and devotion of our staff, families, and volunteers,” says Shelli. “In the short time we have worked with Jennifer, she has become a part of the Mary Immaculate family. She has been wonderful to work with.”

“Mary Immaculate is an impressive school,” offers Jennifer. “Many people don't realize all of the wonderful resources they have to offer students.” Among these resources are a fully equipped Macintosh computer laboratory, smartboards, and a sensory integration classroom. In addition, the school's Social Skills program uses Second Step, a program designed to teach students important social interaction skills using role-playing, open discussion, and engaging activities.

“As an intern, I've written press releases, assisted with branding workshops and performed marketing research for the school,” offers Jennifer. “I also created a power point presentation, tri-fold brochure, and display board for use as marketing tools at events such as open houses and the Jamie Farr tournament.”

“Partnering with Lourdes College on this internship was a natural fit,” notes Shelli. “Because Mary Immaculate and Lourdes are both faith-based institutions with a strong commitment to service, we knew that working with a student at the College would be a great opportunity.”

Jennifer sought out the marketing internship with Mary Immaculate for a variety of reasons, including her support for the mission of the school. “After only visiting a few times, I could already see that Mary Immaculate is a home away from home,” she says. “It's a very warm atmosphere and the students are fully engaged here. As a mother of two, I wanted to help this school in any way possible.”

She also hopes that her marketing internship will provide added value to her accounting and finance degree. “I was looking for an internship that tapped into both my personal values and creative abilities so that I could expand the scope of my experience,” notes Jennifer. “The internship with Mary Immaculate was the perfect opportunity.”

In addition to partnering with Mary Immaculate, Lourdes has developed internships with many area institutions whose focus is on education and service to others including:

Anne Grady Corporation

Area Office on Aging

Imagination Station

Interfaith Hospitality Network

Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio

NAMI

SCORE

St. Francis Academy

Sylvania Franciscan Academy

Toledo Museum of Art

Toledo Area Humane Society

United Way

Zepf Center