Where do you turn for inspiration? Sometimes taking a look back at where you were a few years ago and the progress you've made along the way can put things into perspective and provide the creative spark needed to move forward. For KU senior Sara Carlsen, learning to focus on possibilities rather than limitations has opened doors to undergraduate research experiences, internships, and connections to experts in her industry.

An internship can help you build professional skills and apply lessons you’ve learned as a student outside of the classroom, and even around the world.

If you've been keeping up with headlines, you've probably noticed that stories involving diplomacy have been dominating the news cycle recently. As a Public Diplomacy intern with the U.S.

Hometown: Tonganoxie, Kansas 

Major(s) / Minor(s): Communication Studies / Journalism 

Internship title and organization:  Social Media and PR intern for the Kansas City T-Bones 

What were your responsibilities during the internship? I was responsible for running the team Snapchat account, and I helped out with the other social media accounts. I was also responsible for helping out with promotions and really just assisting my boss in any way she needed. 

Preferred Name: Everyone calls me A-A-Ron, but Aaron works too!

Major(s) & Minor(s): I’m not going to lie, I’ve been jumping around in the Biology field quite a bit, but I’m currently majoring in microbiology pre-medicine.

Where are you from? And why did you choose to come to KU? 

I’m from El Paso, Texas originally, but as a child we moved quite a bit and settled in Newton, Kansas. My mother wanted me to stay in state and study Engineering. KU had all of those and the distance from home made it the best fit.

Hometown: Fairway, Ks 

Majors and minor: Psychology and Strategic Communications, Spanish (minor) 

Internship title and organization: volunteer, Van Go 

Students are increasingly adding an internship to their College experience to boost their career prospects after graduation. According to a recent article in the New York Times, "internships have gone from nice-to-have-on-a-résumé to absolutely critical," because employers now hire about 50 percent of their interns after graduation. Internships can be a direct route to a job at a company or organization. They can also let you try out a career, build a network, establish mentors outside of College, earn college credit, acquire new skills, and gain vital experience in a professional environment.

Hometown: Tribune, Kansas

Majors: Finance and Economics

Internship title and organization: Research intern at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP)   

Hometown: Westwood, KS 

Majors: Global & international studies and French, minor in economics 

Internship title and organization: Events Intern at the International Relations Council 

Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska 

Majors: English major with German and journalism minors 

Why did you choose your majors/minors? I’ve always really enjoyed English and German, and I figured I would do the best studying what I have interests in. I decided to minor in journalism as well, because it is a good way to learn to apply what I’m learning in English. The more I learn about it, the more I like it. 

Internship title and organization:  I was an intern at a newspaper called the Ostholsteiner Anzeiger in Eutin, Germany. Eutin is a small town in Schleswig-Holstein. It is the sister city of Lawrence.

A career in the US army sparked Rebecca Rumptz's passion for international diplomacy. Originally from a small town in Michigan, she joined the Army straight out of high school and spent the next seven years as a soldier working in intelligence analysis.  Assignments in Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan, and a period in Washington D.C. fueled her passions further. A desire to learn more led her to KU.