Kirsten Fohrman
Majors: Human Resource Management; Marketing
Emphasis: Law
Year in College: Junior
Hometown: Waupun, Wis.
Current City: Oshkosh, Wis.
Internship: Career Services Great Lakes Grant Assistant
Time management, organization and professionalism in communicating with others are all skills University of Wisconsin Oshkosh junior Kirsten Fohrman said she’s gained in her internship in the Career Services office.
Fohrman serves as the Great Lakes grant assistant, completing quarterly reports, giving presentations on the grant to students, working with professors and staff to raise awareness for the grant and answering questions for students.
The Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation Career Ready Internship Initiative grant Fohrman works with is available to juniors and seniors working in unpaid internships who can demonstrate financial need.
Students who qualify for the grant can be paid for up to 150 hours of work at an unpaid internship that is helping them gain skills and experiences that further their academics and can be applied in a future career.
Fohrman submits student timesheets to the Cashier’s Office and oversees the grant being paid out to students, as well as working with the Financial Aid Office to ensure students meet the grant requirements.
“Collaboration has been key in working with the Great Lakes Grant,” Jaime Page-Stadler, Career Services director, said. “Kirsten has worked with various offices across campus to reach eligible students for the grant.”
Majoring in human resource management and marketing has given Fohrman the insight she needs to work with different groups of people—employers who are hiring students for unpaid internships and the students who fill these internships.
“What I think is obvious they might not see or understand,” Fohrman said. “It’s taught me to be patient and I’ve learned a lot from working with people from different disciplines.”
For Fohrman, her internship is an opportunity for her to learn, grow and advance closer to her career goals.
“Working closely with my supervisor, has helped me know when to ask questions and when to search for the answers on my own,” Fohrman said. “It’s helped me become more independent.”
Working in an internship on campus has given Fohrman the opportunity to enhance her communication skills and gain confidence for life after college.
“Since Kristen has already had one internship Career Services has been able to capitalize on her previous experiences and exemplifies why students should have multiple internships to be more valuable to an organization,” Page-Stadler said.
“The skills you gain help prepare you for graduation,” Fohrman said, “It’s important to have more than one internship because you can still gain experience in other positions.”
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