The last thing most students are thinking about when they trudge through the snow to class each day is summer. Most of us can’t even remember what 50 degrees feels like.
However, the Boston University Community Service Center’s (CSC) Nonprofit Expo, held on Wednesday at Metcalf Hall, reminded students that summer is the perfect time to volunteer or intern, and now is the time to apply (even though it’s still below freezing outside).
The expo featured about 100 nonprofit organizations, ranging from Teach for America to the Boston Ballet. Tables lined the room, and representatives from each organization showcased available positions and answered questions from students seeking their perfect summer internship or volunteer opportunity.
The CSC sponsored the event for the past five years in conjunction with idealist.org, a nonprofit resource website, but coordinated and sponsored the event on its own this year.
CSC Community Outreach Program Manager Katie Curtin said that many organizations are able to fill all of their summer positions solely with volunteers and interns recruited from the expo, which keeps some of them, like Teach for America and Barakat, Inc., returning each year. She also stressed how important a volunteer position or an internship can be when seeking potential careers.
“I hope it makes students continue to see that nonprofits are a viable [career] option and I hope it gets underclassmen thinking about future careers,” said Curtin. “It’s a process of building a relation with the organization.”
The Nonprofit Expo acts as a supplement to the career expo that the BU Center for Career Development sponsors each year, and caters to students seeking volunteer opportunities, internships and part-time jobs at local, national and international nonprofit organizations.
The expo attracted students from all class years and even some from other universities and colleges in the Boston area.
“I’m interested in nonprofits because I like helping the greater good,” said College of Communication freshman Emma Tangoren. “I like how BU puts these events together for us because it shows that they’re interested in helping us out.”
Tangoren hopes to secure a summer position at WBUR, an NPR member radio station affiliated with BU. Like many students at the expo, she wants to connect with an organization that relates to her interests and that she can herself working at post-college.
Missed the Nonprofit Expo? Find information about volunteer opportunities, internships and part-time jobs at the CSC website.
Great story and photos Nee-Sa and Stacey! We really appreciate you coming by the Expo yesterday. Hope to see you around the CSC soon!