George Moriarty, NECC executive director of workforce development and corporate relations, and Fausto Caba, NECC accounting major.

From accounting firms to marketing departments, student participants of Northern Essex Community College’s Internship program are finding long-term work at local employers.

NECC’s internship program was revamped in 2014 by Director of Career and Experiential Education Ashley Moore, who realized that while some of the college’s programs were afforded practicums and internships, others — such as business and journalism/communication — were not.

Now, many Northern Essex students in those majors have not only completed their internships, but also been offered jobs by their employers — letting them kickstart a career in their chosen field even before they’ve finished their two-year degree.

“My internship was at Bradford & Bigelow Inc., and I was hired for a full-time position a month after I completed my internship,” says accounting major Fausto Caba. “The internship program opened the doors for me to get where I am.”

Caba is hardly alone in his experience. Since the program’s debut in the spring semester three years ago, over 40 internship education students have been offered part- or full-time work at their job site after completing their required hours.

The success of the program can be traced to its focus on getting students valuable experience in their chosen field; Moore and the faculty from each department aren’t interested in miring students in the usual “intern getting coffee” clichés.

On the contrary, since the internship program works to match the most qualified students with positions that line up with their interests and skill sets, employers are often eager to set Northern Essex students up with real-world work. The Amesbury Chamber of Commerce stands out as an example of this — they were so impressed with accounting major Jeanne Hallisey that they hired her for a full-time position.

“I landed the Member Services Coordinator position and started the day after my last semester started, so I was suddenly working full-time and going to school full-time,” says Hallisey, “but I wear a lot of hats and wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Other students have completed the internship program to find jobs within NECC itself. Computer and Information Sciences major Gary Cooke, for example, now serves as the integration specialist in the management information system department.

“The internship prepared me to work in an MIS environment with some very talented, intelligent people,” Cooke says. “All in all, it was an incredible experience, and the outcome is exactly what I had hoped for.”

For more information about the internship program contact Ashley Moore at amoore@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3946.

To learn more about enrolling at Northern Essex for the fall, visit the website or contact Enrollment Services at admissions@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3700.