Internships

A Deferred Dream Within Reach

No stranger to challenges, Theresa Adams ’24 draws from a deep well of lived experience to help remote First Nations people get the health care they need.  A Mohawk grandmother and single mom who worked for nearly 30 years at Kanonhkwa’tsheri:io, the Akwesasne Dental Clinic, Adams was hesitant to pursue her lifelong dream of completing an advanced degree in higher education. A decade after she had first been accepted to SUNY Potsdam, she returned to pursue a degree in Public health where she completed two internships focused on improving dental hygiene for First Nations people.

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Fabric of Learning

Weaving together academic research and applied learning experiences, Emily Bailey ’24 and Annabelle Kahle ’26 have been immersing themselves in unique hands-on research projects through the Presidential Scholars Program—examining the history of homespun garment manufacturing and using historical tools to create costumes that their ancestors would have worn.

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Becoming an Educator

Building on teaching experiences in her father’s kindergarten classroom throughout her youth, Hannah McArthur ’25 is now pursuing a degree in early childhood / childhood education, and gaining valuable real-world experience through numerous elementary school classroom placements around New York state.

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The Tick Trackers

As Jada West ’24 drags a light-colored flannel sheet across the forest floor, she searches for microscopic creatures most of us hope to never encounter. Pulling the sheet over leaves, plants, and soil she captures Blacklegged ticks like a lint roller absorbing fuzz balls from a favorite sweater. Working with Dr. Kate Cleary, Dr. Glenn Johnson, Dr. Bridget Amulike, and Dr. Jessica Rogers, West and four other students were able to get hands-on experience through grant-funded research this summer, studying small mammals and examining tick abundance around Potsdam.

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The Gold Standard

Ever since the inception of SUNY Potsdam’s public health program (formerly community health), internships have been strategically integrated into the curriculum. The culminating capstone experience has allowed students to take the skills they’ve learned in the classroom, apply them in a real-world setting, and then fluidly transition to full-time jobs immediately after receiving their degrees. This semester, nine students are in the field gaining real-world training at sites ranging from Canton-Potsdam Hospital to the Canadian Ministry of Health.

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Raising the Bar

During her time at SUNY Potsdam, Sara Behuniak ’14 landed an internship at the St. Lawrence County Public Defender’s Office—fully immersing herself in a law office for the first time her senior year, as she paved the way to an impressive career lawyer.

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Seeing the Future Through the Past

 Marla Jacobs ’20 drew strength from her Mohawk heritage to overcome daunting challenges and finish an archaeology degree with three minors. Hard at work on a new display for The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, she continues to help build our knowledge of Indigenous peoples and their role in the ancient Adirondack landscapes.

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Combating Disease Through Education

For Whitney Callaghan ’17 & ’21, out-of-the-classroom experiences proved to be immensely important, like her semester-long internship at Planned Parenthood in Saranac Lake. Her primary role involved educating youth about sexual assault prevention. She also completed a research project examining the risk factors for chlamydia in St. Lawrence and Franklin County, and interviewed people about prevention methods. An internship with the Franklin County Department of Public Health rounded out her real-world training.

Real-World Training

As part of his community health major, Othman Ladan'19 completed two internships during his last semester on campus. First, he worked at Canton-Potsdam Hospital to educate families about nutrition and fighting obesity, before heading down to New York City to oversee similar educational objectives with at-risk populations, through an internship with the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

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World Class Experiences

From working on the floor of the New York State Assembly to helping with hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, Julissa Santana ’20 graduated from SUNY Potsdam with unrivaled hands-on experiences.

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Summer Internship

Stanley Martinez '19 spent his summer completing an eight-week-long internship at Double H Ranch, a camp that provides specialized programs for children dealing with life-threatening illnesses.

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Behind the Scenes at The Met

As an undergraduate student at SUNY Potsdam, Johnna Bernard ’18 has performed on stage at Carnegie Hall, toured Cuba with the Crane Latin Ensemble and hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain with the Crane Concert Choir. She is now working as an intern for the Metropolitan Opera National Council in Manhattan—an amazing hands-on experience at the world's most famous opera house.

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