How Penn State Greater Allegheny is preparing students for career success

McKEESPORT, Pa. — When Mikah Tulloch arrived at Penn State Greater Allegheny a few years ago, he had one thing on his mind: basketball. Everything else that goes along with being a student-athlete immediately overwhelmed him. What was he going to major in? How would he feed himself? Who was going to do all this laundry?

Tulloch, who plans to graduate in December, said he gradually became more comfortable with his newfound independence. He made friends easily, which helped the campus feel more like a home away from home. And he found a major, accounting, with the aid of the ACE Program, a federally funded TRIO student support service at the Greater Allegheny campus that provides, in part, academic advising, tutoring, specialized courses and career planning for first-generation students, students from low-income families and students with disabilities.

Last winter, Tulloch took a significant step toward enhancing his job prospects after college. He spent two months interning in the finance department at Auberle, a well-established nonprofit near the campus that provides social services for underserved populations in Allegheny County.

Tulloch’s experience can be traced back to the Penn State Greater Allegheny internship program, which underwent a substantial overhaul four years ago. This latest iteration is designed to be more strategic, with a stronger focus on developing the skills most sought after by employers, according to Rosemary Martinelli, assistant teaching professor of marketing and communications, who also oversees the campus internship program. Most importantly, it is structured to allow every student the ability to engage in a high-quality experience specifically designed to prepare them for what comes next.

“We have to stay focused on both student needs and employer expectations, as each continues to evolve alongside changes in industry and the workforce,” Martinelli said.

"No two internships are exactly alike," she added, "but when we redesigned the program, we wanted every student to have the same access to meaningful experiential learning opportunities.”

Integrating into the student experience

Beginning in the summer of 2022, Martinelli led a comprehensive review of the internship program as part of an effort to further strengthen and expand experiential learning opportunities for Greater Allegheny students. Over the following months, she engaged students, faculty and national professional organizations, including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), to gather insights on emerging best practices and evolving workforce expectations.

She also examined research, connected with leaders of internship programs at other institutions and organizations, and benchmarked the campus’ efforts against national standards.

Through this process, Martinelli sought to identify opportunities to enhance the program’s impact while preserving its strengths. Her work also included outreach to regional employers to better understand workforce needs and cultivate partnerships that could provide students with meaningful, high-quality internship experiences while supporting broader regional economic and workforce development goals.

“We want employers to be partners, not just job leads,” Martinelli said.

New program, expanded preparation

The revamped program launched in 2023. Aside from the plethora of new opportunities across industries, including local governments, nonprofits and large corporations, Martinelli worked with the campus registrar to introduce a general internship preparation course, INTSP 370, which she also teaches.

Most, but not all, Penn State Greater Allegheny degree programs require students to complete some number of internship credits. Many of these programs have their own prep course that is part of that requisite. For business majors, it’s BA 420: Preparation for Career Management. For degrees without a major-specific prep course, the general course meets that need.

The curriculum, in part, is based on NACE’s eight “career readiness competencies” — career and self-development, communication, critical thinking, equity and inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork and technology. In less abstract terms, Martinelli said students learn how to take a “deep dive into a job search,” and they refine their networking and professional presentation skills. They also discuss employer expectations from both a practical perspective — punctuality, attire, communications — and as they relate to skills and knowledge.

Virtual reality mock job interviews resonated with Tulloch, who completed the BA 420 course prior to beginning his internship at Auberle. While he had some previous exposure to an office environment, Tulloch said he was never fully immersed like he was at Auberle. Initially, every aspect of his workday required some degree of adaptation.

He quickly fell into a routine and felt more comfortable, and more confident in his ability, he said. Still, the weekly staff meeting loomed like an ominous cloud. Everyone, Tulloch included, would take turns updating the others on their various projects. As he realized it wasn’t all that different from the virtual job interviews, this, too, became another small win.

Sharing experiences like these is the point behind an internship showcase, another new facet of the campus program that Martinelli stages each semester. The crux of the event is a five-minute student presentation reflecting on the internship experience. During the presentations, students answer questions from the audience, which often includes community leaders and prospective employers, in addition to future student interns.

Martinelli said she believes this kind of peer-to-peer learning can be just as valuable as the internship experience itself.

Everything is informative

When Rebecca Olesky started working in human resources at Auberle a year-and-a-half ago, growing the nonprofit’s internship opportunities was among her top priorities. In her first full year, nine students from various institutions interned there. Halfway through 2026, there have been seven, including Tulloch, who was the finance department’s first intern.

The Greater Allegheny campus has been an ideal partner in this pursuit. Martinelli, Olesky said, is attentive and diligent, referring only the students who are best suited for the available opportunities. The campus is close by, which makes it easy for both the interns and Olesky to move back and forth from the office. And, critically, the Greater Allegheny campus interns “come ready to learn,” Olesky said.

Although Auberle does not extend a job offer to most of its interns, Olesky said the nonprofit considers candidates with the same degree of scrutiny it would in hiring an employee. The entire process, including the internship itself, should be regarded as information gathering, she said, because often something sticks unexpectedly and it nudges you down a previously unforeseen path. This was her experience after graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Tulloch said his responsibilities at Auberle largely aligned with his coursework and his expectations of what an accounting job entails. And he believes he’s well-positioned to embark on a career in accounting after he graduates, thanks, in part, to the newly added internship experience on his resume.

“With the skills that I learned here,” he said, “and, soon, a degree from the prestigious Penn State, I’m ready to step into my career.”

About the series

This story is part of an ongoing Penn State News series exploring the Commonwealth Campuses and their connections to the communities they serve. The series highlights how campuses across Pennsylvania contribute to education, workforce development, research and regional engagement in unique and impactful ways.