New externship opens doors for sophomores at UB and WNY colleges

Students completing their fourth semester are eligible for a new externship program through UB that not only provides professional work experience this summer but also pays.

Fifty students will be chosen for the “WNY Sophomore Externship Experience @ UB,” which will match college sophomores with some of the area’s top companies for eight weeks during June and July.

The students selected will work 25 hours a week, be paid $4,000 over the course of the summer and be exposed to what the Buffalo region has to offer. They also will receive one college credit but will be responsible for that cost.

An externship differs from an internship in that it is typically for a shorter period and often involves working on a specific project, says Hadar Borden, director of UB’s Startup and Innovation Collaboratory Powered by Blackstone Launchpad, or the CoLab for short. An externship also tends to occur earlier in a student’s college career.

“We called it an externship to be more of a launching pad, if you will, for our students,” Borden explains.

“So, come the summer of their junior and senior years they’re going to be even more competitive when they’re seeking out internship, fellowship or job opportunities,” she says. “This is going to help shape their professional awareness and we’re really excited about the opportunity that will expand a student’s professional circle they can leverage in their search.”

The new externship program, run by the CoLab, is funded by the Prentice Family Foundation as part of its long working relationship with the university.

In 2009, the not-for-profit established the Western New York Prosperity Fellowship Program at UB — and at Canisius University the following year — to assist undergraduate and graduate students preparing for careers that further economic growth and development in Western New York. The leadership-development program provides students with scholarships and paid, credit-bearing internships in their intended professions.

“UB and the Prentice Family Foundation have a longstanding partnership focused on growing entrepreneurship in the Western New York region. We are grateful for the continued support of our students through this new program,” says Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School.

What’s different about this externship program is that eligibility is not limited to sophomores at UB. Sophomores at other Western New York colleges and universities also are eligible. So are sophomores attending college elsewhere, as long as they graduated from a high school in Western New York.

“This is a great opportunity for our UB students, as well as those from the Western New York region,” says Brian Hamluk, vice president for student life. “Externship experience is an important part of the overall UB student experience as we prepare our students for a lifetime of career success.”

One of the goals of the externship program is to help retain young people in the region by showing them what it has to offer, Borden says.

Students will work 20 hours a week on-site at their designated companies. Five hours a week — typically a Friday — will be set aside for them to meet virtually or in person with the other externs and immerse themselves in Buffalo, whether it’s enjoying a PowerUp Tech program led by TechBuffalo or touring Silo City with Explore Buffalo.

“This is an opportunity to introduce students to Western New York in a different way and not as their hometown, but from a professional perspective,” Borden says.

Applications are due March 31.

Students can apply online.