On Roads to Opportunity for Barnstable County Interns

In 2017 Barnstable County’s Resource Development Office launched the ‘On Roads to Opportunity Internship Program’ placing students in unpaid internships in one of our many departments at Barnstable County and serving as an additional resource to our colleagues.

This past spring semester, Barnstable County hosted three exceptional students from Bridgewater State University. Jamie Nelson is a 2018 graduate from BSU with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science. Having come to the County with experience in computer programming and software engineering, Jamie’s goal was to practice developing a customized WordPress website. She spent the semester working on a new Purchasing website for Elaine Davis, Chief Procurement Officer, which is expected to be rolled out sometime this summer.

Jamie says of her internship at the County, “I gained the valuable skills of communicating with a “client” through setting up meetings to discuss progress and design ideas. In my university courses, I often design programs myself, but this gave me the opportunity to create a product to someone else’s specifications.”

Jamie will start another internship at Akamai Technologies in Cambridge this summer and has been accepted to Boston University’s Computer Science Master’s program for this fall.

Sherry Liang is a 2018 graduate of BSU with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance. Exploring potential career paths, Sherry applied for an internship in Human Resources and worked closely with Barnstable County’s Human Resources Director Justyna Marczak and Nancy Cushing, Payroll and Benefits Coordinator. She assisted with duties centered around updating key documents, policies, and manuals.

Sherry says, “After completing the internship in Human Resources for the County, I can really see myself working in government or the public sector in the future. I learned to be professional and learned a lot about the government-business setting.” Sherry will be starting at a managerial position at Walgreen’s this month.

Jaclyn Gonsalves, a 2018 graduate of BSU, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, interned at Children’s Cove, a Child Advocacy Center serving the Cape and the Islands. Internships at Children’s Cove generally attract numerous applicants each semester seeking experience in the field, making it a highly competitive internship. Here interns are expected to accompany staff during outreach and training, observe the entire process of a child sexual abuse disclosure, including the forensic interview, referral of programs, and assistance with the legal aspect of each case. Interns also assist with the intake process and learn appropriate triage of incoming cases.

Jaclyn says, “I initially applied for this internship because I rarely see opportunities in my field that are located on the Cape and I knew I wanted to do something to help my community. I applied and interviewed – not fully grasping the extent to which this was going to benefit me as a person, as well as my career development. The staff at Children’s Cove all took me under their wing and allowed me to explore the different positions and opportunities that they provide.”

Jaclyn was accepted into a Master’s Degree program at Lesley College and plans on continuing her involvement at Children’s Cove as a volunteer.

Best of luck to Barnstable County’s past and present interns. If you or someone you know is interested in an internship at Barnstable County, please contact Sonja Sheasley at Sonja.Sheasley@capecod.gov for current opportunities.

 

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