Career Discernment through December Externships

22 January 2024
By Luke Klefstad, Program Director for Experiential Learning
Luke Klefstad
Luke Klefstad, Program Director for Experiential Learning

The week after fall term finals and the Thanksgiving holiday, almost 200 Carls headed across the country, across the Atlantic Ocean, or across the room to their computer to begin their externships. These students applied for these opportunities, only for Carleton students, to observe or complete projects for 1-3 weeks with Carleton alumni, parents, and friends of the college. 

Our Externship Program is 16 years strong and has grown substantially into a highly sought-after opportunity to explore a career or industry and make new connections. In December 2023, 194 students completed an externship; 36% sophomores, 28% juniors, 27% seniors, and 9% first-year students. We specifically target our sophomores and upper-division students for these opportunities. To make the program more accessible and to mirror trends in the workplace today, our students participated in externships in a variety of modalities; completely onsite (46%), completely remote (43%), and hybrid (11%). 

Opportunities in many industries and sectors allowed our students to explore various interests and career pathways, complementing the liberal arts mission at Carleton. Organizations in the natural and hard sciences boasted the most externs, followed by data science & technology organizations, and then healthcare. 

To help facilitate student learning in the program, students set learning goals and complete a final reflection of their experience. Students are encouraged to be creative in the medium they choose for their reflection, and many submitted videos, collages, slide decks, essays, and even a poem or two. The reflections do an excellent job of showcasing the benefits of these short-term experiences for students and highlight the various types of experiences our students engaged in during the program.

Zoe Roettger ’27, undecided, spent three weeks at the Rochester Art Center as an Education and Community Programs Extern with Carrie Robinson-Cannon, friend of Carleton.

Olivia Corbo ’24, economics major and French minor, completed a remote externship at Twain Financial Partners LLC, co-founded by Marc Hirshman P ’20, P ’23.

As you can see, students connect with many professionals, make contributions to the organization, and discern with more certainty their career interests. If you are interested in providing a learning opportunity for Carls in the externship program, please reach out to externships@carleton.edu to receive more information about the 2024 Externship Program.