| You
are one of the many psychology students in the biggest departments in
the College of Arts and Sciences. Want to know how to stand out and be
better than the rest?
Volunteer - Donate your time to one of the many organizations on campus or off that could offer you some real world experience. On campus, you can choice from Circle K (they do take back the night, trick or treat for IDD patients, even a zoo project), Community Action Corps (they have a counseling program that tutors psychology patients, works on hotlines, children's help lines, advocate programs for rape crisis, and makes you an educational instructor) or just be a tutor. Call up hospitals and ask to volunteer in the wards that interest you. Want to work with kids? Ever think about volunteering in the day-care center in the University? There are a million and one organizations out there that would love some extra help and every employee or graduate school likes to see that you have already done and worked in the kind of setting you want to be in. FIND THOSE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES NOW!!! This can't stressed this enough. If you want to go into clinical psychology, you could be a POWER Advocate with the Living Well Center (they stress good mental health). What about Sub-board I and the Anti-rape task force? You could be an intern and coordinate the nightly rides or be the services supervision assistant and coordinate the walk-in run services, be part of the education staff that supervises training and programs, or be their programming coordinator and plan events like "Take back the night". In addition, Michael Hall has a Sexuality Education Center in which you could be their counseling supervisor, or even the supervisor or assistant supervisor of the Clinic. You could take part of their AIDS Coalition and put together workshops and events about HIV awareness. Finally, the Community Action Corps has a counseling director that coordinates the volunteering positions, crisis services and their "Born Hava" program that works with infants with delayed developmental disabilities. Or maybe just be part of the executive team of a academic or Student Association club. Remember that there are new Student Association and Sub-Board I positions available to students every fall. Check out all the bulletin boards and don't skip your messages from your advisor. It only takes one thing on your resume to stand out to get you the job or graduate school program of your dreams. For those of you not going into Psychology careers, the same goes for you! Remember that the number #1 thing all employees look for is leadership experience! So volunteer and work in setting that will give you some experience in your field. At the very least, you will have something to talk about in an interview! GET AN INTERSHIP! Get another one, and then get another one! The magic number of internship experiences is three. Research the organization you want to intern (see the Internship Bible). Even if you don't possibly think you could get it, why not try? That especially goes for you guys entering the business world. Study-abroad could be a great way for you to get experiences and education (not to mention meet people and see things you couldn't dream up). You also show independence and the ability to follow your passion anywhere in the world. Get experience in your field NOW! For instance, if you want to go to law, look up organizations on campus that could give you experience. Did you know UB has a Student-Wide Judiciary where a bunch of students sit on a court as judges and hand down verdicts on the fate of other students? There is also a group called Group Legal Services that will train you to be a paralegal. Do you know how great that experience is to Law Schools and on your resumes to prestigious firms? For all you non-lawyer types, look into being an RA; a UB Star (for you going into communications); SA positions like Publicity Director, Treasurer's Assistant, and many other positions that could help you; student specialists with the College of Arts and Sciences, A Diversity Advocate with the Office of Multicultural Affairs; a Leadership Peer Educator with the Leadership Development Center; etc; etc; etc. Go, go, go gain experience and show the world what you are capable of. |
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