Campus Correspondent: College Internships

College internships are one of the main ways students get hired out of college, and those opportunities for students are shifting back to in-person after the pandemic forced them to go virtual over the last two years.

“I think it's reasonable for students to return to work and reasonably normal activities. Particularly if they're vaccinated,” said Dr. Bratzler with OU Health.

As people return to a new normal, whether it’s in person or virtual, it’s important to consider the factors that come with it.

“I do encourage people to think about those people who are around them, who may be at greater risk of complications if they get infected,” Dr. Bratzler continued.

As infection rates decrease, students are making the shift back to in-person internships.

But it’s a different story for college students like Katie Hallum, who are immunocompromised.

“I've been suffering with a kidney disease since I was about 18. At the beginning of COVID, I went into full failure,” Hallum said.

Everything was put on hold and COVID wasn’t the only battle Katie faced after landing her dream internship.

“Because of COVID, I was hospitalized for a little while and I was not able to complete the internship,” Hallum said.

The lack of an internship is one thing many students who studied during the pandemic have in common, which is a gap in their resume and a lack of workplace experience.

Despite the concern over lack of experience, students are determined to bounce back and not let this gap define them.

“Now that things are kind of starting up and I may have a kidney transplant in the summer, we're hoping that once I'm back on my feet, I'm able to do an internship again,” Hallum stated.