Two MCC Standouts Go From Internships to Jobs
Carlos Velazquez and Tara Jackson have different majors, different backgrounds and different goals. But they have one characteristic in common: Determination.
Mr. Velazquez started at MCC in the fall of 2013, leaving after two semesters to concentrate on a personal goal: losing weight. He was up to 310 pounds but through determination, diet and exercise, lost 100 of that. He came back in 2014 slimmer but no less determined.
The Liberal Arts/Communications major has always been a big New York sports fan – especially the Yankees – and he wants to become a broadcaster.
“New York sports has always been my passion,” he said. “I took Intro to Broadcasting with Professor Louis Dell’Omo and it lit a fire under me. I knew this is what I wanted to do for my entire life.”
So in the fall, Mr. Velazquez interned at Magic 98.3.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “I stepped into a world I was passionate about. It was a one-of-a-kind experience.”
He was on the “street team,” in the marketing and promotions department, and was hired part time this spring.
He will graduate this May and plans to transfer to Montclair State University’s School of Communications as a Mass Media major, which will allow him to study both radio and TV.
Tara Jackson is equally determined.
A double major in Fashion Merchandizing and Business Administration, Ms. Jackson actually went through three majors before finding two she liked.
She had been an administrative assistant with Duck River Textile and then took an internship in the sales department in the fall of 2017. She was so successful they hired her in product development, close to what she wants to ultimately do, which is buyer.
“The internship was a great experience,” she said.
In January, just as she was starting her job, the company sent her to Germany for a week-and-half for a trade show to explore fashion trends in Europe, the precursor to what will be offered in the U.S.
She works there full time, two days a week in the Edison warehouse and three days a week in the New York City showroom.
She is graduating in May and planning to transfer to either New York University or the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Arianna Illa, coordinator of Career and Transfer Services, said an internship can be a valuable experience.
“Co-op is the combination of real world, hands-on experience with skills students will need later on in life,” she said. “It also allows them to connect with people in their field before they graduate.”