TSU’s 2020 Spring Internship Fair Gives Students Hope for Future Job, Employment Opportunities

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – TSU students looking for internship opportunities recently got a major break when representatives from more than 40 companies came on campus for the 2020 Spring Internship Fair.

William Corneh, left, a second-year business marketing major, talks to representatives of Provider Trust about internship opportunity with the company during the summer. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

Nearly 400 students from different disciplines, with resumes in hand and dressed for business, attended the fair in Kean Hall on Feb. 18, where the companies set up tents, tables and displays. The fair was organized by the TSU Career Development Center in the Division of Student Affairs.

William Corneh and KeAnna Dakwa were among the first students at the fair, stopping at tables to hear what company representatives are looking for.

“I am here hopefully trying to get my first internship,” said Corneh, a second-year business major from Atlanta, who was shaking hands with representatives of The General Insurance Company. “This is my first effort trying to land a job. I am looking for an internship in an area of business marketing and the prospects look very good.”

TSU President Glenda Glover, right, talks to Katrina Kerr, a TSU alum and recruiter for Insight. Kerr is a 1994 graduate of TSU with a master’s degree in business administration. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

For Dakwa, who had a long discussion at the Lockheed Martin table, the chance for an internship also looks promising, said the sophomore civil engineering major from Huntsville, Alabama.

“I am here looking for internships in project management, civil engineering and anything that has to do with urban planning and logistics,” said Dakwa, who interned with American Electric Power last year. “I have been talking to Lockheed Martin and other design and engineering companies to see what they have to offer, and things look very promising.”

Unlike the career and employment fairs the university’s Career Development Center hosts during the year for various employment opportunities, this fair, which is held once a year, is dedicated solely to internships.

Moses Harris IV, left, a consultant with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, greets TSU students at the internship fair. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

TSU President Glenda Glover, the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Frank Stevenson, and a host of university officials, faculty and staff, stopped by the various booths to talk with company representatives in support of the students.

All of the representatives, including the fair’s major sponsors – Nashville Predators, The General Insurance Company, Altria, and LG&E – said they were impressed with the TSU students’ presentations, outlook and approach, and that they had a very good grasp of what they were looking for.

“TSU students are very professional, very friendly. You can tell they come prepared,” said Cheryl Mabry-Shirey, HR generalist with The General Insurance Company.

She said her company is looking to recruit interns for paid positions at $20 an hour in marketing, claims and IT.

Antoinette Hargrove Duke, Associate Director of the TSU Career Development Center, (middle in TSU blue), greets representatives of the major sponsors of the 2020 Spring Internship Fair. From left, are: Lindsey Nelson, Nashville Predators; Cheryl Mabry-Shirey, The General Insurance Company; Duke; Brooke Hartlage, LG&E; and Tyler Ridley, Altria. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

“We have talked to several students who we already know are perfect fits for our company,” said Mabry-Shirey.

Lindsey Rosen, talent acquisition specialist at Provider Trust, a healthcare compliance-based company, said her firm is also looking for people to fill internship and employment positions in marketing and sales.

“We pride ourselves on bringing in top talents,” Rosen said. “We are looking for creative and motivated people who want the opportunity to learn from our company.”

Antoinette Duke is the associate director of TSU’s Career Development Center. She said she is excited about the “overwhelming” turnout and support of the internship fair. She credits the various departments and volunteers with the success of the fair.

“These companies have shared with us that they actually have open positions to get students in for the summer,” Duke said. “Hopefully, when they leave today they will get those interviews to secure those internship positions. This really gives our students the opportunity to interact with the employers. We also want employers to use this valuable opportunity to connect with some of the brightest students. We thank our volunteers for their dedication and commitment to helping our students succeed.”

For more information on the TSU Career Development Center, go to http://www.tnstate.edu/careers/

Department of Media Relations

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Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees. TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee. With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.