Stepping Up | Holy Cross Alumni group increases support for intern program
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Katie Gardner, left, and Lauren Therry, right, are two Holy Cross interns that benefited from an alumni group at the school that helps fund paid internships in New York City.
Every year for the past 10 years a group of alumni from the College of Holy Cross has gotten together to socialize with old pals, sip some cocktails in a beautiful New York City hotel, and offer a helping hand to some young adults they don’t even know.
“We have a group of angels in New York who care about the future of kids they have never met,” said Mary Donahue Quinlan, advertising director of Cosmopolitan magazine and a 1976 graduate of Holy Cross. “I think it is wonderful.”
The alumni group is called the Leadership Council of New York. It raises money every year to help fund internship positions at a variety of New York City businesses, providing Holy Cross students with an invaluable opportunity to gain experience in the working world.
Real World Experience
“There are companies out there who won’t even interview you if you don’t have an internship,” said Quinlan, adding that while she disagrees with that philosophy, the group of which she is a former chair tries its best to make sure that as many opportunities are available as possible, a task made more difficult by the current state of the economy.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, businesses cut college internships by 21 percent this year. In response to that cut, the Leadership Council funded 45 internship positions this year, up from its usual 25.
“These fundraisers are expensive — $300 a seat,” explained Quinlan. “Yet, we get people to come.”
The internships are all in the New York City area and are highly competitive. Lauren Therry and Katie Gardner, two Holy Cross students who will be seniors this fall, realize how fortunate they are. Both have paid jobs this summer working for Quinlan at Cosmopolitan, getting real world business experience, class credit, and a $6,000 stipend for living expenses.
“I am lucky to have landed something,” said Therry. “It is a tough market this year. And this is not just any internship, but a really good one.”
Gardner also recognizes how fortunate she is.
“Holy Cross does such an amazing job with their alumni,” said Gardner. “They are a very generous group. I could not be more thankful to the Holy Cross community.”
Both of them are enjoying their exposure to the advertising world and say they are learning a lot from some really nice people. It is an invaluable experience for both of them because they hope to find careers in the field following graduation.
The gratitude flows both ways in this instance. While students are able assimilate the ways of the working world and make those critical networking connections, companies get motivated, bright students and a potential employee, all for a relatively small cost.
“I love these girls,” said Quinlan. “They work hard. We bring them into meetings. They have fresh ideas. They are here before 9. You just need somebody to be committed and they are. ”
Exposing students to the business world and its realities is even more paramount for those from Holy Cross, which is a liberal arts college.
“Some liberal arts kids graduate without a clue as to the business world,” she explained, citing that as one of the motivating forces behind the decision to form the Leadership Council and fund internships for Holy Cross students. She and other alumni of Holy Cross, who had found careers and success in New York City, had always maintained their connection to their college through various social events. They would get together on a regular basis, holding Christmas parties in the winter and organizing boat rides in the summer. Eventually, the group decided that they should use the connections they had formed to help other Holy Cross students find success in the business world. The Leadership Council and the mission of funding internships were born.
“Tom Carey was the catalyst behind this,” said Quinlan of the 1966 Holy Cross graduate. “He was the first chair and he really helped get it going.”
The members of the group, who work in such diverse fields as advertising, insurance, sports foundations, hospitals, and non-profits, raise money on an annual basis and donate it to Holy Cross to fund the program. The money they raise every year varies, said Quinlan, but they generally fund 25 internships a year. However, this year the Leadership Council funded nearly double the number of internships it usually funds in an effort to try to make up for the shortage caused by the poor economy. The group tapped into its “rainy day fund” to accomplish this goal.
What started out as a social gathering of former Holy Cross students working in New York has become much more. The internship program is alive and thriving, ten years in.
“This is one of things in my life that I am most proud of,” said Quinlan.
Ellen O’Connor is a freelance writer based in Worcester.
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