The PAWS Program is a program at Penn State DuBois designed to partner students with industry early on in their college careers to allow them an opportunity to gain valuable work experience while earning their degree.
This partnership will allow an accepted student in the program the opportunity to work with a company for a period of time and gain valuable input from industry. In addition, this program gives students the opportunity to participate in professional development programs throughout the year, thus, adding to the overall experience
Eligibility Requirements
In order to be considered for this program applicants must:
- Be accepted to Penn State DuBois in one of our academic programs
- Have a high school GPA of at least a 3.5
Be willing to agree to the obligations of this program
How does the program work?
- Students are accepted to Penn State DuBois
- Student applies to the PAWS program
- Student interviews with a company, if accepted by the PAWS Committee
If accepted by the company, student meets with a PAWS professional member to develop their personal program plan which includes the following:
- Completing 4-6 professional development opportunities each year
- Completing job shadowing in their second semester
- If the job shadowing was successful as determined by the employer, the student maintained their academic eligibility and completed their professional development programs the student may be selected to move on for a more in depth internship for the summer
- Students who have been successful through their first year will be eligible to remain in the program interning for the company each semester for 10-15 hours per week and up to 40 hours per week in the summer as determined by the employer
Program Opportunities
Multi-year internships — Students earning two and four year degrees can be awarded the opportunity to graduate with multiple years of experience.
Professional Development - Those accepted into the program will have an opportunity to develop their skills further with topics such as:
- Dining Etiquette
- Resume/Cover Letter workshops
- Interviewing skills
- Career Talks from the Industry
- Networking opportunities
- Portfolio development
- Participation in research fairs
- Leadership programs
- Professionalism presentations
- Experience sharing presentations
Participants’ Responsibilities
- Remain enrolled in an approved DuBois program
- Keep a cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Attend four to six professional development seminars each year
- Meet with your PAWS professional member
- Work up to 10 hours per week during the semester at your internship
- Work up to 40 hours per week at your summer internship
- Meet employer expectations and conduct yourself professionally
Please contact your Career Services representative below for more information about this program.
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Career Services Representative
Rebecca Pennington
Director Student Affairs
106 Hiller Building
(814) 375-4766 or email [email protected]