Submitted by: Erica Veiga
Erica is a current student, enjoying her practicum at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.
I remember looking over the AHE program during the summer of 2012 and saw that a requirement was to complete a practicum experience and so many different thoughts ran through my mind such as: “Where am I going to be able to find a practicum location? What department do I want to work in? How am I going to make it work with my current full time retail job?” I got right to work at the end of the Fall 2012 semester searching for a position that was the right fit for me.
I knew that I wanted to work in student activities but I wanted to be able to create and develop programs, not just work on ones that were already established. During my search I came across the position of Student Leadership Graduate Coordinator at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. This site was different and everything I was looking for. BFIT is a two-year private career college with 88% of their student population being males. Their student involvement office isn’t extremely large but there was room for me to be able to implement what I had in mind while helping to maintain what they already have.
By March of 2013 I had secured my practicum location and I have been working at BFIT since the last week of August of 2013 and I love it! The students are great, the faculty and staff have made me feel like I am home and I have never felt so positive that working with students is what I want to do for my career. I’ve been able to take the events they hold on campus and put a new spin on them and bring new events to campus, as well. For example, I worked on Fall Fest where students enjoyed a BBQ, played games for prizes and hung out with the JAM’N 94.5 street team. Also, I will be holding Wednesday afternoon activities each week that range from making sand art to basketball tournaments.
The advice I would give to students in their search for a practicum site is start looking early! Also, don’t be afraid to work at a site that is different from where you are currently working. If you can get to know and work with different people in our field, your network will grow. Keep an eye on the emails from our Graduate Fellow as they always include a listing of offices looking for practicum students as well as jobs both near and far. Lastly, ask your fellow classmates, as they may know of an opening at the institutions where they are working.
Administration of Higher Education 