By Brian Cortes
Hum 470, a five-credit asynchronous class, allows students to gain experience from private or public workplaces using skills they have gained from studying the liberal arts. This means students can participate in internships or jobs while being supervised in the course, and have this experience count towards their academic progress.
One of those students is Leonard Barret, a Lehman student who interned as a New York City Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Program Aide. A big part of his experience was embracing real-world challenges, such as dealing with time management. “I think balancing school and work is always a difficult kind of thing,” said Barrett, who received career-focused training in his internship. “That was a little overwhelming, but luckily with this course in particular, it was able to be an extension of my work…because I felt like I was getting better at my job with the videos that I've been watching and the articles that I was reading for this class.”
“It accepts students where they are, job [or] internship-wise, and then helps all of them to develop the professional skills and understandings they need to get to the next step in their college-to-career journey.” -- Paula Loscocco, Lehman College English professor
Paula Loscocco, an English professor who teaches this course, said, “It accepts students where they are, job [or] internship-wise, and then helps all of them to develop the professional skills and understandings they need to get to the next step in their college-to-career journey.” This means that if a student is currently engaged in an internship or job that fulfills the requirement for the course, they can continue to work at it and receive credit for it, making scheduling an easier process for them.
This structure worked well for Ashley Soto, who was able to count her job as venue coordinator as her internship this semester. Reflecting on how she coped with this kind of school-work relationship, she said it is giving her valuable insights. “I'm learning a lot, which is why I'm pretty excited for the most part,” she said. “It feels good taking this internship with my job …because I find myself each week reflecting on something new I learned.”
Other students reported experiencing various forms of personal and professional growth, especially learning and progressing in the fields towards which they aspire. Towards the end of the semester, students must apply for a "next-step" position, submitting a resume, LinkedIn profile and cover letter to ensure they can leverage the experience into bigger career opportunities.
Hum 470 also allows students to glimpse their possible futures, helping them decide if the industry they wanted to participate in is the right fit for them—or not. Modupeore
Raji, an English major that wanted to experiment with the world of theater, was able to take that chance in the course.
“Before I took this internship, I was an English major with ideas of going to publishing, maybe becoming an editor, but learning more about the theater industry from Lehman Stages helped me get to know that it is feasible for me to have a career in theater,” Raji said. As students face their next steps post-university, Hum 470 provides a window onto possible paths ahead of them.
