Internship

A key component to leading and developing leadership skills is reflection. Since this experience will require you to evaluate and analyze your leadership decisions, the best way to begin preparing for the Applied Leadership Experience is to reflect on what/where you would like to launch your internship.

For some, identifying a position to apply leadership skills may be difficult. For others, you may already know exactly what you’d like to do. Take some time and brainstorm what stage you are in with identifying an internship position and organize your ideas.

“I don’t exactly know where to begin for my applied position.”

For help brainstorming, click here: Searching for an Experience

"I'm currently in a position that I would like to count towards my applied leadership development credits.”

To learn how to structure your experience, click here: Currently in a Position

To view some example proposals, click here: Sample Proposals

Have questions about the Leadership Minor, click here: Frequently Asked Questions

Examples of ALD Experiences

• Shadowing a state police officer

• Starting a non-profit organization in your local community

• Working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife

• Serving with the United States Forest Service

• Leading an in-lab research team

• Leading and working with youth; youth camp, working with state and FFA groups, working with Boys and Girl Clubs, working with Big Brother/Big Sister Program

• Completing service/volunteer work for a civic or religious group

• Serving as a public representative for a local community event

• Managing a local sports team

• Apprenticing to be an athletic director

• Serving as an intern at Walt Disney World

• Service-learning combined with a study abroad

• Teaching outdoor recreation classes

• Participated in a management training program with a local business

• Enhancing sustainability initiatives

• Serving as a positional leader in a local club or civic organization

• Serving as an intern in a local business

• Serving within a college in a leadership role

• Leading a change initiative within a business

• Leading service-learning troops

• Volunteering as a mentor for students at a local high school

• Conducting a research study on differences in leadership types within a community

• Participating in a national leadership conference

You will need to describe in detail what your role(s) and responsibilities will be at the site. Begin brainstorming ideas by making a list of duties, tasks, and/or roles that will guide your internship experience.

Below are three examples:

1. Athletic Director Internship

Duties: Site supervision, coaching evaluations, directing tournaments, participate in Athletic Director meetings, management and fiscal responsibility.

2. Dental Consulting and Training Corporation Internship

Duties: In charge of marketing: Facebook, Linked In, Google and website blogs, manage new student interviews, interview applicants interested in the program, co-coaching a 9 week Dental Front Office Administration course, managing phones, reports, and statistics.

3. Communications Intern for NAAE in Lexington, KY

Duties: Write award citations, news releases, presentation scripts, newsletter entries for award winners, contacting award winners and communicating with applicants.

Feel free to use our Proposal Outline to organize your thoughts while constructing details on your proposal.

After you have drafted these roles, now is an appropriate time to contact a Leadership Minor Advisor about your applied experience internship.

Communicating with an advisor throughout the process of setting up a position is a helpful tool when organizing an experience. While advisors do not assign students to an experience, they do, however, need to know about the position in order to approve the experience and ensure it fulfills the Applied Leadership Development components of the minor.

Office: 541-737-2661

Email: leadershipminor@oregonstate.edu

A key and important component to the Leadership Proposal and ALD experience will be establishing Applied Learning Development Outcomes for your own unique experience. Please establish a first draft of these outcomes before talking to a Site Supervisor. This will help you effectively communicate with your site supervisor and establish areas in which you would like further guidance. 

THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THE OUTCOMES WHEN APPLYING FOR YOUR EXPERIENCE:

1. Leadership Learning Outcomes: What do you expect to learn through this experience?
2. Personal Development: How will these learning outcomes contribute to both your leadership development goals and your career goals?

You may find the 46 Leadership Skills document a useful tool when establishing your learning outcomes.

Once you have established the experience you would like to focus on, you will need to brainstorm and contact an individual who will be your mentor/supervisor throughout the experience. The Leadership Minor requires each Applied Leadership Experience to have a supervisor. The supervisor will be a contact point for the ALD Instructor and potentially provide guidance to the student concerning their project.

1. ) If your Site Supervisor would like information about their role prior to committing to the position:

• Direct them to our ALD Site Supervisor Page
• You can also print out an ALD Site Supervisor Packet that includes all of the information from the site. This would be helpful for supervisors who do not have access to the webpage or want a physical copy of the agreement. 

2. ) After identifying and confirming your site supervisor, present them with your draft ideas concerning tasks, duties, and learning outcomes you would like to achieve during this experience.

3. ) A Site Supervisor will need to fill out the Supervisor Verification Form.

a) Print out the form

b) Have site supervisor complete the form

c) Your site supervisor returns the form to you

d) Submit the form when you submit your electronic proposal (A Completed Supervisor Verification Form is required when submitting your final proposal)**

4. ) Contact and check in with your Leadership Minor Advisor. 

• Let your advisor know the specifics of your proposal. Your advisor may approve this position or ask a few questions to help direct you in another direction that may further develop your leadership skill set.

5. ) Once you have approval from your advisor, you will be ready to register for class and to begin your experience.

To view sample proposals, click here: Sample Proposal

All proposal will be submitted electronically. To submit yours, click here: Applied Leadership Proposal 

**Remember to have a completed Supervisor Verification Form to upload onto your electronic proposal**

1. Revise Objectives:

Look over your proposal and make the proper corrections (if any) that your advisor recommends.

2. Receive Override/Advisor Approval:

Once you've received an approval from your advisor concerning your proposal they will process an override for you so that you can register for the Applied Leadership Development credits.

3. Register for the class:

Once you have permission and the override has been completed you can register for your Applied Leadership Development experience.

The general guideline for receiving Internship credits based on average hours worked per week during their term are:

Average Work

For example, if Julie averaged 15 hours of work per week for the entire 10-week term, she would be eligible for 4 credits. Total hours equal 150 hours.

4. Complete Coursework:

Review the course syllabus, student expectations, and any online assignments the instructor assigns.