Eastern students are finding internships within various departments in Charleston, ranging from the Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department. 

Brian Jones, the recreation director for the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department, has been working for the city of Charleston for 15 years and has served as the recreation director for eight years.

Throughout his years as a recreation director, Jones said he has seen about 40 student interns from Eastern. 

For example, Jones said the current athletic supervisor for the department, C.J. Applegate, was once a student at Eastern and received the job after an internship with the department. 

“We typically have an intern or field study student every semester,” Jones said.  He said it would be rare for the department to not have an intern for a semester. 

Jones said the department is very popular for recreation administration students who need to accomplish fieldwork. Typically the department has more field-study students than interns. 

Jones said the department is branching out and diversifying the different areas interns come from.  

He said he currently has an intern that is from Eastern’s journalism department and is helping the department proofread and edit a handbook for parents for the children’s after school program.

Jones also said he had an intern who was a kinesiology and sports studies major that was heavily involved in the athletic side of the programs the department offers. 

“Typically we try to give them the opportunity to work on anything and everything we are doing,” Jones said. 

Jones said interns typically deal with the same types of tasks that regular employees deal with, including planning and executing programs and activities, soliciting donations and prizes, and evaluating the programs and activities. 

“We try to make them one of the staff members,” Jones said. 

Jones also said activities and tasks vary depending on the seasons, but Jones said he tries to get the interns outside as much as possible.

Jones said the biggest challenge he has with interns is making sure he keeps them busy.  

“It would be nice if we had a nice, steady workload the entire time, but that is just not how it works,” Jones said. 

David Collard, the superintendent of the Wastewater Treatment Plant for the city of Charleston, said the internship program or the plant has been available for about 20 years. 

Collard also said the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s oldest employee was once an intern from Eastern’s biology department and their most recent hire was an intern. 

Collard said the most beneficial aspect of hiring an intern is the fact that “they bring their education to the table.” 

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu