Weinberg sophomore Jonathan Moore scanned the Louis Room in Norris University Center Tuesday afternoon as the U.S. Marines, policy researchers and non-profit organizations offered job and internship opportunities.
“No, I’m not nervous,” he said. “I’m looking for the experience more than anything.”
Moore was one of many students attending the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Interest Job/Internship Fair. They were motivated by a desire to gain experience, explore options, and find meaningful jobs.
Arielle Zern said she would rather spend her summers teaching instead of pursuing an internship or other resume-building opportunity.
“There are probably other internships, but this is something that I feel right doing,” said Zern, a Weinberg junior.
Zern was at the fair representing “The Breakthrough Collaborative,” a non-profit organization that allows college students to teach middle-schoolers over the summer.
“It’s so important, but it is so undervalued,” she said, explaining her frustration over low salaries in the teaching profession and at other non-profit organizations.
M.P. McKenzie, a representative from the Chicago-based Center for Impact Research, explained that her organization appeals to students who want to learn what they like to do.
“If somebody were looking at public policy in grad school, this would be great experience,” she said. “The worst thing is to realize, ‘I got a master’s in the wrong thing!'”
The element of faith also appealed to some students investigating non-profit opportunities.
“It’s a combination between faith and philanthropy,” said Linda Jun, a Weinberg junior. “I’m a Christian, but I think it’s also a faith in the ability to help people.”
Brother Fred Kaiser represented the Augustinian Volunteer Program at the fair. Kaiser explained that participants in the program spend a year living with Augustinian friars, concentrating on issues ranging from the homeless to male prostitution on the north side of Chicago.
Kaiser said faith plays an important role for many people at non-profits. “They feel that it would be too draining on their own,” he said.
Others agreed the event kept in the spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Brett Boettcher, assistant director of University Career Services, explained this was the fifth year the public interest fair had been held.
“I think there’s a misconception that our office covers only business,” he said, explaining that the fair was organized to promote government, non-profit and other community organizations in honor of MLK Day.
Weinberg junior Marissa Jackson took a deep breath before speaking Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development representative.
“It’s about creating the ‘beloved community’ King was talking about,” Jackson said.
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