Thanks to a transformational gift from Stacey (DC’80) and Brian (ENG’80) Reilly, Douglass students can participate in the Reilly Program at the BOLD Center at Douglass for Advancing Women’s Professional Development, a comprehensive and immersive experience that educates and prepares them for careers of impact and distinction. The Reilly BOLD program offers a specialized professional development curriculum combined with an immersive workplace experience, known as an externship. An externship offers students the opportunity to be mentored by a professional site mentor for one or two weeks in their area of interest or in a career that they would like to learn more about. Participating in this job shadowing experience allows students to learn about the skills needed in a particular career, analyze the status of women in the workplace, work on hands-on projects, and get an inside glimpse into the day-to-day work life of their site mentor. Meeting people on the job also helps to build a professional network. Externships continue to be one of the most valuable experiences our students can have as undergraduates, as they can be stepping stones to gaining important career experience.
Site mentors play a pivotal role in our students’ professional journeys—providing necessary career development opportunities and industry insights. Site mentors are responsible for organizing activities for externs such as facility tours, meetings with staff, presentations, and small tasks. Most importantly, they provide valuable advice and guidance to students who are still exploring various career paths.
Over half of our externship site mentors are Douglass or Rutgers alumni who care deeply about the success of current Douglass students. We are looking for more Douglass alumnae to participate as site mentors and/or to spread the word to their networks, particularly in fields like computer science, engineering, medicine, finance, law, and policy. This year, we are accepting applications for remote or in-person externships during our January 2022, March 2022, and summer 2022 sessions. Applications are due Friday, October 8, 2021.
To apply, please visit: https://webapps.rutgers.edu/student-douglass/Forms/SiteMentor
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your ideas for an externship, please contact Stephanie M. Perez, Senior Director of the BOLD Center, stephanie.perez@rutgers.edu or 848-932-3158.
