2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
2010
Amanda Gunther | October 2010
Dr. Jane Elmes Crahall said, “I nominated Amanda for several reasons: she picked up extra assignments at Geisinger in expanding their social media use--they appreciated the fact that she could write a traditional press release and at the same time adapt it for electronic posting. In addition, on several occasions she caught potentially embarrassing editing errors--a major invitation and poster for a high profile event that didn't have the date or location on it--it was on its way to the printer when Amanda caught it and stopped the process. Her duties expanded as the semester went on, which was a clear indication that her work was of a professional quality. Her supervisor(s) praised the quality and amount of her work--noting that it was exceptional.” Congratulations Amanda!
Mackensey O'Hara | September 2010
Dr. Wenger together with the Cooperative Education coordinator, Sharon Castano nominated Mackensey O'Hara for Intern of the month of September. Dr. Wenger states, “Mackensey is doing her internship at Luzerne County Historical Society, where she is developing and helping run a series of children's educational and holiday-themed programs; she is preparing lesson plans for each of the programs so the Society will be able to keep the plans on file and use them again in the future. Her first program was held the first weekend of October; it involved making river rafts and acting out harvesting fish from the river. Mackensey's work is benefiting the Society and the children of the community, and it is also giving her good experience toward her professional goal of becoming a children's librarian. Mackensey is absolutely faithful in sending me detailed weekly reports about the internship so I can speak with great assurance about what she is learning and the projects she is undertaking. I recommend her with great enthusiasm for this award!” This is Mackensey’s second successful internship, congratulations Mackensey!
Lauren Quinn | September 2010
Dr. Jane Elmes Crahall nominated senior Lauren Quinn for Intern of the Month for September. She stated, “Lauren has been interning in the Public Relations Office at W-B General Hospital since early June. Initially, she was to work with a new "Healthy Woman" initiative. Her responsibilities have included writing and laying out a monthly newsletter, contacting and "growing" the businesses that sponsor Healthy Woman and initiating new projects. She also does a full range of public relations writing, including external press releases and internal newsletter work. Her supervisor offers "Only praise for Lauren...she has taken on the responsibility (if not more) of our full-time staff. I have 100% confidence in her abilities." Lauren's range of professional skills in PR and her reliability have made this internship experience an excellent one for her and her placement site.” Congratulations Lauren, you deserve it!
Melanie Thomas | March 2010
Melanie is a Junior Communications major interning at the Wilkes University Marketing Department. Her internship is relevant to her career goal to work in public relations. Melanie is consistently hard-working, timely with her duties and assignments, and is very proactive within the department. Vicki Mayk her supervisor states, “During her internship in marketing communications, Melanie has exhibited an outstanding work ethic and positive attitude that made her great to have in the department. No task – large or small – was too much trouble and she always was willing to accept constructive criticism and to grow from that feedback.” Congratulations Melanie on this achievement!
2009
Jason Woloski | October 2009
Dr. Linda Gutierrez nominated Jason Woloski for October’s Intern of the Month award. She stated, “Jason is a senior majoring in Biochemistry and a Wyoming Valley Health System Pre-med Scholar. During his rotation, he has demonstrated all the qualities desired in a physician: responsibility, compassion, honesty and dedication. Jason is fully enjoying and maximizing his Co-op experience and he's the first Premedical Scholar involved in a multidisciplinary project between the chemistry and psychology departments at Wilkes University. The project entitled: “Influence of External Stimuli on Levels of Human Immunoglobulin A (IgA)” is funded by a mentoring grant and it has raised a lot of interest among students and faculty participating as volunteers. Combining both experiences in one, clinical and basic research, Jason proves how science may be essential for improving human health.”
Sharon Castano, Internship Coordinator, believes Jason’s writing assignment is not only reflective but indicative of his enthusiasm for his soon to be career. “In academia, there is nothing more exciting than observing a student’s passion for his/her career choice; I cannot wait to see him become Dr. Jason Woloski!”
Jacqueline Lukas | September 2009
Jane Elmes-Crahall nominated Jacqueline Lukas for September's Intern of the Month. Jacqueline completed her internship with the Mayor's Office this past summer culminating with the September 16th Party on the Square. "Her organizational skills, along with writing, really helped make this Party on the Square a success", Jane wrote. Congratulations Jacki!
Fred Pierantoni | August 2009
Jane Elmes-Crahall nominated Fred Pierantoni for August's Intern of the Month. Dr. Elmes-Crahall stated "he has been accomplishing an amazing amount of work--several brochures, countless press releases, web site critique and re-writes, and now he is working with his supervisor, Kristen Klemish in turning a huge medical/statistical report on cancer instances in NEPA into articles that the general public can read and understand".
Fred didn't stop at his Communications duties, his supervisor said he has been sitting in on their Board meetings and meetings with the medical researchers. Dr. Elmes-Crahall met with Fred over the summer and stated, "he can explain the significance of these research findings clearly, passionately and very professionally. Fred is a bright, thoughtful and gifted student in design. Working with Kristin at the NERCI he has grown significantly in technical writing and design skills. Most importantly he has grown in self-confidence. This internship is proving to be a career builder in many ways".
Christine Zavaskas | April 2009
Dr. Jane Elmes-Crahall I would like to nominate Christine Zavaskas for an Intern of the Month for April 2009. When asked why she felt Christine should receive this award, she commented, "She is working in the Communications Department of Blue Cross of NEPA. In addition to receiving an outstanding evaluation from her supervisor (100% and the comment, "Can we clone her?" Christine has taken on an impressive range of assignments throughout the semester. She has been entrusted with sensitive writing assignments; work on their media relations over very complex issues and in coordinating their charitable Foundation's work in the community". This was Christine's second internship; her first was with Senator Lisa Baker's office.
Nicholas Ebert | March 2009
Sharon Castano nominates Nicholas Ebert for Intern of the Month for March 2009. "Nick is w ith the Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development (formerly Joint Urban Studies). Nick is one one of the brightest and most responsible students I have worked with in recent years. He approached the data driven internsip with an open and curious attitude and has taken advantage of every opportunity for learning. He contributed primary research in the field, data analysis and interpretation, and report development. I believe that Nick's reliability and competence has been an asset for The Institute and her exposure to the research and teamwork enhanced his development. He is an outstanding representative of the Cooperative Education Program." Contributed by Dr. Anne Heineman Batory
Allison Stets | February 2009
Dr. Deborah Tindell nominates Alllison Stets for Intern of the Month for February 2009. "Allison has only been at Wilkes since the fall of 2007, but in that time has really made an impact on the Wilkes community and beyond. In the classroom, Allison is a strong student, demonstrating am ability to think critical, analyze abstract ideas and write clearly. It is outside of the classroom where her strengths really shine, however. Personally, Allison is a very caring and compassionate person. She is also very responsible and manages her time well. You put her personality, intelligence and desire to help others together, and this makes Allison an excellent mentor. Using those skills at Wilkes, Allison has become involved in both the e-mentoring programs as well as psychology's PsySOP mentoring programs. It is not surprising that Allison wants to be a guidance counselor, ultimately, Working with foster children and families in the Fall, Allison exhibited a depth of caring and open-mindedness in her interactions. She was an asset to the organization and represented Wilkes in an excellent light. This spring, Allsion is working for a guidance counselor, which is a perfect position for her. I cannot imagine a better intern. Allison is a goal-driven and motivated. She genuinely cares about the children in the system, and takes her role very seriously."
Contributed by Dr. Deborah Tindell
2008
Andrew Seaman | May 2008
Dr. Andrea Frantz nominates Andrew Seaman for Intern of the Month for May 2008. "Andrew is interning at USA Today in Washington, DC. On June 7, he was tapped to cover one of the biggest stories in the nation--Hillary Clinton's speech to constituents in which she announced her suspension of her presidential campaign and endorsement of Obama. Andrew co-authored the story with the natitonal editor and it led on USA Today.com.
In addition to writing and contributing to numerous stories to date, Andrew's research skills have been widely praised at USA Today. He was given dual by-line for his very first story there (whereas in most cases, the interns are relegated to "contributing" notations at the end of the stories for the first few weeks) because of what his editor called "outstanding research in the field" that gave shape to the story.
Andrew is learning so much in terms of style that he hopes to bring back to The Beacon for the fall. I feel strongly that his hard work should be rewarded in an Intern of the Month acknowledgement."
Contributed by Dr. Andrea Frantz
Jessica Woolfolk | April 2008
Dr. Robert Bohlander nominates Jessica Woolfolk for Intern of the Month of April. Jessica did a truly outstanding job at Northeast Counseling. One Site Supervisor gave her a 100% ratinig, and stated that Jessica is "by far the best intern we have worked with in my 6+ years in this position". The other Supervisor stated "Jess is the very best intern this facility has ever had (past 25 years!). As her Faculty Coordinator, I have seen Jessica grow personally and professionally over the course of her internship. She is not only more skilled clinically, but has enhanced self-confidence and ability to work independently.
Contributed by Dr. Robert Bohlander
Christopher Borgna | March 2008
Sharon Castano nominates Christopher Borgna for Intern of the Month award for March. Chris has done an outstanding job as an intern at the NeuroSensory Center for Eastern Pennsylania in Kingston. In addition to his other task and experiences at the Center, Chris was given several projects to do independently, because the staff recognized his skills and level of responsibility. He eagerly accepted each challenge, and with minimum guidance, finished the work on every project. His work products were of high quality, and completed in a timely way. Perhaps his biggest project was the writing, filming and production of a training DVD that will actually be shown to new patients at the medical clinic where he interned. After researching and learning the medical background he needed, he talked with staff about the information that was necessary in the video. He filmed, narrated, and appeared in the video. Chris successfully met all expectations at the NeuroSensory Center, and has provided valuable assistance to the Center through his work on "real life" projects, the fruits of which are being used with actual patients. In my opinion, Chris truly deserves this award.
Contributed by Sharon Castano
Chelsey Gosse | February 2008
Eric Ruggiero nominates Chelsey Goose for Intern of the Month. Even before the beginning of her internship Chelsey went through great lengths to secure this position contacting people at E! Entertainment multiple times. She put together and perfected samples of her work for consideration. Being that this internship in Los Angeles, Chelsey has to then find a place to live and get around in the big and sprawling city. She has been working on graphics for on-air broadcast and she even worked on a pilot show and setting up and rehearsing for the Grammy Awards. Here is a recent e-mail from her supervisor. "I just wanted to let you know that we are really happy with having Chelsey Gosse with us this term. She's had some stiff competition. We would love to have any further recommendations you might have for future interns".
Contributed by Eric Ruggiero
Jamie Gwynn | January 2008
Jamie Gwynn is a junior Communication Studies major. Jamie is an intern at the Office of the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre. He started early in January and hit the ground with both feet. In the past month he wrote many news releases (often on a daily basis), wrote speeches, helped organize two difference downtown W-B activities such as the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and carried out a business-city promotional program. He has clearly earned the trust of his supervisor and Mayor Leighton. Jamie sits in on staff meetings every week and is included in visits with other political officials. His press releases have been carried and posted on various web sites. His supervisor praised his initiative and communication skills as excellent in her midterm evalution. She also indicated that no matter what she assigns to Jamie he eagerly does it and does it well. He is demonstrating professional-level public relations skills in a sensitive area, politics. This is also an important experience for Jamie as he prepares for his next internship experience as part of the Washington Semester in fall 2008
Contributed by Dr. Jane Elmes-Crahall
2007
Marcus Magyar | November 2007
Marcus Magyar is a senior majoring in finance. This fall, he had an excellent opportunity as an intern to receive hands on experience with Mericle Commercial Real Estate. As part of this internship, Marcus was involved with several different projects and presentations. He constructed marketing instruments for seven major projects, developed investment and marketing analysis of over $30,000,000 in property assets. During a recent site visit to Mericle, Al Guari, Vice President, Brokerage commented that in the time he has worked with Marcus he has been impressed by his "willingness to learn" and the ability to take a project and run with it. "He does a terrific job, Marcus definitely has the ability to excel".
Contributed by Sharon Castano, Internship Coordinator
Kate Baas | October 2007
Dr. Mischelle Anthony nominates Kate Baas as Intern of the Month for October. "Not even a month into her work on site, Kate has accepted a heavy workload and responsibility in handling the publishing branch of Talent Clearing House. She has commented on this week's reflection how she is using both her English and Business skills, which reflects her academic studies as well. Considering which submission would be appropriate for TCH's audience is a tack that Kate takes on with maturity and finely-honed skills from her work in Student Government and the Wilkes Yearbook staff. Her English major, and Business and Women's Studies minors, have prepared her well for this position. I am continually impresswed with Kate's professionalism, achievements, and balance in her life."
Contributed by Dr. Mischelle B. Anthony
Robert Noone | August 2007
Rob is an intern for the NY Yankees team in Scranton/Wilkes Barre. He has been working with marketing and promotions, developing visual content for signage around the stadium, print materials and player profiles shown on the outfield jumbotron. He also supports whatever is needed during game time, even pulling tarps to cover the field getting soaked during a rain delay. I hear he actually called this " fun." Rob has gone out of his way to introduce what we are doing here at Wilkes to management and fellow coworkers. He is an ambassador for the University and has represented us all in an exceptional light.
Contributed by Eric Ruggiero
Samantha Clarke | July 2007
Samantha has been working as a production assistant intern with the Rachael Ray Show in NYC. She started working in late May and will complete the internship in September. Sam has taken advantage of every opportunity to learn more about professional skills needed in production. Last week, of the 10 interns at the Rachael Ray Show, she was the only one to immediately volunteer for a "test" stand-up shot while they were on location at The Insider. She asks for new duties in order to learn more about editing, production protocol and audience selection. Just today I read her intern supervisor's midterms evaluation. The supervisor, Kathleen Baily, said Sam's "work is outstanding -every department that Sam works with mentions that she is a great member of the team." She comments that Sam is "always looking for more to do and is interested in trying new tasks." Her evaluation of Sam's performance was 100%. I am impressed with how much she is learning and how readily she has adjusted to the pace of work in New York
Contributed by Dr. Jane Elmes-Crahall and Sharon Castano.
Megan Feusner | June 2007
Megan is a senior at Wilkes, majoring in biology. After graduation next year, Megan hopes to enter veterinary school. This summer, Megan has found an excellent opportunity as an intern to get hands on experience in veterinary medicine. She has been working very hard as an intern with Laurel Hill Veterinary Services in East Smithfield, Pa. The website for this veterinary hospital can be found at http://www.lhvsinc.com. As part of this internship, Megan has been involved with several different veterinary studies of large farm animals, as well as dogs and other pets. Her primary project this summer has been to ascertain how lameness, hocks (a debilitating condition of the upper legs), age, milk production and hygiene affect the locomotion of dairy cows. The results of the study may be useful to improve cow comfort, nutrition and management. It was interesting to Megan that no two herds had the same problems, making every cow an individual case study and yielding very different results. Megan has also been active in testing cows for pregnancy using the BioPRYN pregnancy blood test as well as learning how to culture milk samples, giving IVs, dehorning calves and helping with surgeries. Besides working with large farm animals, Megan has also worked in the clinic this summer with small pets. Her experiences at the vet clinic have been anything but dull, and she has come away knowing that "just when you think you've seen it all, there's something new. One day for instance, there was a dog left tied on a leash inside a truck outside the clinic. The dog jumped out of the truck and managed to hang himself." Lucky for him he was just outside the clinic and Megan was there to help resuscitate him. Megan also states that, “It’s amazing how so much of what I've learned at Wilkes has been applicable in the real-life application of veterinary medicine."
Contributed by Dr. William Biggers
Megan Feusner | April 2007
Megan interned at Westside Veterinary Clinic in Kingston with Dr. William Rubin, V.M.D. She is only the second student that I have mentored for this type of co-op. According to Dr. Rubin, “Megan is bright, inquisitive and has a quest for learning. She has lots of potential comparable to most of his other interns who have gotten into vet school. She is pleasant, courteous and always on time.” Most students do not know of the possibility of doing this type of internship. There is a serious nationwide shortage of veterinarians, and the majority of students in vet schools are now female.
Megan feels that this was a very eye-opening experience for her. She grew up on a farm with large-animal experience, and this was an opportunity to experience veterinary care in a small-animal setting. She had the opportunity to observe a variety of treatments and surgeries for dogs and cats. Not all were pleasant experiences, such as euthanizing animals that appeared to be healthy per the human owner’s request, but overall this was an outstanding experience for her. Her project paper, a review of skin cancer in dogs and cats, was well-written, and I feel that it may possibly be publishable in a veterinary journal.
Contributed by Dr. Valerie Kalter
Noelle Budurka | March 2007
Noelle's enthusiasm during this internship did not go unnoticed. The Institute for Human Resources praised Noelle's excitement about her position. Her supervisor, Holly Hicks, said, "Noelle was a joy to work with. She was extremely inquisitive and always asking 'why.' It was enjoyable and refreshing to explain how the program works."
During the end of her internship Noelle wrote, "I had hands-on experience working with different foster children and foster parents. By attending court termination hearings, filling out monthly contact forms or just simply visiting foster children, helped me have a better understanding of what a Children and Family Specialist does."
"This was an opportunity for me to see that it doesn’t matter what your social status is, as long as there is love in the home and the child is well taken care of, this is what matters the most. Being able to see a foster child get adopted after years of being in the system touches my heart. "This experience will last a lifetime. I am glad I had the chance to do this."
Contributed by Sharon Castano
Jeanne Stapleton | February 2007
Jeanne's enthusiasm and dedication to the internship has been a tremendous asset to the Volunteer Center of Greater Hazleton.
Dr. Bohlander stated, "I enthusiastically support the nomination of Jeanne Stapleton for Intern of the Month. Jeanne’s performance level at her internship placement has been outstanding. Her weekly summaries demonstrate her thoroughness and conscientiousness. Not only does she recount a wide variety of experiences she has had, but she also reflects on more challenging, difficult, or problematic moments. She uses these moments precisely the way we wish all interns did – to gain self-understanding, interpersonal skill, and problem-solving experience in the world. Jeanne repeatedly seeks out new responsibilities and opportunities to get involved, and she appears to have raised multitasking to a new level. Reading everything she has done in a week in her reflection papers makes me feel tired! Her success in her role as an intern has been outstanding. There are many examples of this one could cite, but one of note is that she reportedly was able to amass the largest volunteer group ever for the American Cancer Society Telethon.
Here are a few quotes from Jeanne's summaries that represent what we hope internship experiences are all about: learning and enjoyment.
“Throughout the duration of the internship, I have truly learned a lot about time management. Balancing classes, research, work and this internship has been a challenge. However, it has taught me to work efficiently and that organization is the key to be successful. These are skills which I will carry with me after graduation and into the work force.” Although this internship is a lot of work and responsibility, I can truly say that I am enjoying every second of it!"
Contributed by Dr. Robert Bohlander and Sharon Castano.
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