Students at the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business learn the value and importance early in their college career of having an internship before graduation.
This summer, Ivy students have been a part of a wide range of internships that add real-world experience to their resumes. Meet Anastasiia Hutsal, who shared why her summer internship added value to her college education.
Hutsal, a senior, came to the United States from a small town in central Ukraine almost three years ago and is studying healthcare management. She is spending her summer as a senior living management intern for Life Care Services (LCS), working at Green Hills Retirement Community in Ames, Iowa.
Hutsal first learned about LCS while attending the Healthcare Management Career Night, an event hosted by the Healthcare Management Club in collaboration with Business Career Services at the Ivy College of Business. There, she talked to a representative and learned a lot about LCS and its history. She later heard faculty and other Ivy students praising their experiences with LCS, which ultimately made her apply. It was her Ivy College of Business career coordinator, Tony Fucci, who provided Hutsal with valuable advice and guidance to acquire an internship. The coursework gave her a solid foundation in understanding how an organization operates, and multiple meetings with her career coordinator prepared her to answer interview questions.
“Start going to Career Fairs and other events before you plan to pursue a job or an internship. It definitely takes the pressure off when you know what the setting is going to look like. Also, have lots of notes and questions for employers.”
— Anastasiia Hutsal
As a senior living management intern, Hutsal’s responsibilities include weekly rotations in different departments while shadowing directors, attending senior leadership, board, and committee meetings, attending daily meetings at the healthcare center, assisting with community events, both for employees and residents, as well as working collaboratively with others. More specifically, Hutsal’s projects consist of updating the assisted living resident guide, updating all 60 job descriptions that exist at Green Hills, completing a first impressions checklist, which is a quarterly audit to make sure that the community makes an outstanding first impression on all visitors and future residents, and working on analyzing reports of the safety officers daily. Additionally, she began training and working with the accounting department, assuming the role of accounts payable specialist.
Hutsal credits attending career fairs and other professional events that enhanced her professional development and her confidence when talking to employers. Her advice to everyone going for an internship is to always be prepared, plan, and be confident.
To connect with Anastasiia Hutsal or follow her collegiate and professional career, visit her LinkedIn profile.
