The Career Resource Center is pleased to announce that 392 students benefitted from expanded funding of just over $400,000 to support applied learning experiences during the 2024–2025 academic year. This marks the first full academic year of support from SUNY Incremental Monies, supplemented by longstanding support from College Auxiliary Services (CAS), to strengthen our institutional commitment to experiential learning and career readiness. In addition to the well-known CAS Internship Stipend, this year we also fully implemented the Living Internship Stipend, the Applied Learning Travel Grant, and funded the First Year Internship Program (FYIP).

Notably, the Living Internship Stipend supported students in unpaid internships outside of their academic requirements, helping remove economic and transportation barriers. These funds have enabled students to access high-impact internships in public service and nonprofit sectors which might otherwise be financially inaccessible.

The Applied Learning Travel Grant supported student teachers and other students with required internships with significant commuting demands. Collectively, recipients traveled approximately 700,000 miles for their placements this year, many of which required five-day-a-week travel to internship sites far from campus.

The First Year Internship Program (FYIP) also doubled in size this year, supporting 42 first-year students in meaningful applied learning right here on campus. We are especially grateful to the 22 faculty and staff supervisors whose mentorship contributed to these students’ growth. Surveyed interns noted their gratitude for hands-on career experience and the opportunity to be better connected to the campus community.

One example of the program’s impact includes a first-year political science major who interned with NYPIRG through the FYIP and later secured a competitive summer internship with a New York City assemblyperson. This opportunity was only made possible through the skills and connections developed via the program, and we are excited to share that this student will also benefit from the Living Internship Stipend for their summer experience.

Lastly, the expanded funding enabled us to track and support 71 non-credit-bearing internships, expanding our ability to understand student engagement and learning experiences beyond traditional academic measures.

These initiatives are vital to our mission of preparing students to become career-ready graduates and reflect our shared commitment to advancing equitable access to experiential learning. A huge thank you to the SUNY Incremental Monies and CAS for their financial support of internship programming.