2008 Winter - University Of Southern Indiana

The InternLauren Omohundro, seniormajoring in communication studiesHometownEvansvilleHer employerOffice of the First LadyState of IndianaIndianapolisThe Web site for Career Servicesand Placement includes a section whereemployers can list a position, includinginternships. Information about workagreements and evaluations also is onthe Web site.“Of course, we encourage employersto call us, especially if they are new tothe process,” Parker said.Nationally, a recent survey showsthe conversion rate from internship toprofessional employment at the samecompany is 47 percent. While the Tri-State rate is not that high, Parker said asignificant number of interns do acceptpositions with their employers.Jared Simmons, a 2007 engineeringgraduate, completed a co-op programwith Toyota Motor ManufacturingIndiana, continued his relationship withthe company following the co-op period,and joined Toyota full time upongraduation in May. A business studentwho converted his internship into fulltimeemployment is Neil Fortwendel’05. He was named one of the top 10interns nationwide for NorthwesternMutual Financial Group in 2005 andjoined the company’s Evansville Group,where he interned, upon graduation.Her internship experienceLauren Omohundro’s baseas an intern last summer wasthe Governor’s Residence inIndianapolis, but she was mostly onthe go coordinating activities for theFirst Lady’s third annual HeartlandWalk for Health and other StateFair activities.“The walk was very much a success,”said Omohundro. “We had 430participants, almost double what theyhad a year ago.”The Heartland Walk is an initiativeto promote heart healthy lifestylesfor all Hoosiers. Omohundro workedwith businesses to promote the eventand wrote public service announcements,media advisories, and pressreleases. She also worked with State Fairofficials to coordinate Daniels’ participationin State Fair contests. The FirstLady came away a winner in both thecelebrity cow-milking and watermelonspittingcontests and tied for honors inthe corn-husking challenge.Omohundro set up several “Heartto Heart” events on college campusesand attended an event with the FirstLady at a hospital in Elkhart, Indiana.Jill Burleson, chief of staff for theFirst Lady, said, “Lauren was invaluablethis summer providing our office withhard work and dedication. She was notonly fun and energetic, but added talentto our team. She was above all professionaland a joy to work with.USI student Lauren Omohundro, right, helpedcoordinate State Fair participation for Indiana’sfirst lady, Cheri Daniels.Omohundro called upon knowledgeshe gained from a USI course in businessand professional communication tocomplete the internship successfully.“That course taught me how tospeak positively and professionally in abusiness situation,” she said, “In myinternship I was speaking to people ofhigh status. It helped me to be confidentin what I was saying.”Her futureOmohundro will put the finishingtouches on her resume and distribute itto potential employers early in springsemester. She will look for a job thatuses a combination of skills from hermajor in communications studies. She isdefinitely interested in putting her eventplanning skills to use again because herinternship proved that she enjoys it andis good at it.continued on next pageUniversity of Southern Indiana13 December 2007