Shameeka Fishley Shares Internship Experience and Advice

Shameeka Fishley is an international student from England and an athlete at DU. She was named NAIA Honorable Mention All-American on 12/07/16, and was the Panthers offensive leader in most statistical categories during her final season. Fishley had 12 goals, 28 points and six game winning goals, all first on the team. She ranked tenth in the nation for her six game winning goals, 11th in shots per game (5.350), 19th in game winning goals per game (0.300), and 27th in shots on goal per game with 2.550. Fishley ranks third in program history in points (81), third in goals (32), second in game winning goals (13), fourth in assists (17), and first in penalty kicks made with three.

As graduation nears, Fishley is working to complete her internship and shares her experience and offers a bit of advice to other students:

Where is your internship?

“I am in the process of completing my internship in Human Resources Recruiting Effectiveness in the Davenport Career Services Office.  My supervisor is Brandi Melkild, a Regional Internship Manager within the Office of Experiential Learning for DU.”

What are your primary responsibilities?

“My primary responsibilities are to help promote career events such as the career fair, to get students to come out and take advantage of the organizations that are put right in front of them on campus. I also help post internships on the PantherJobs website to make it easier for students as it can be a difficult process to find the right ones to apply for. This also includes posting new positions and getting them approved for credit by faculty chairs, and maintaining and updating student and employers files.”

Was your internship for course credit? 

“Yes – HRMG490.”

What are two benefits you will take away from your internship?

“1. The knowledge and experience of the HR profession I won’t learn in the classroom.

  1. Professional references. Within my degree field this will be my first professional reference to put on my resume that relates to jobs I may apply for, instead of only coaches or instructors.”

What did you find to be most exciting part of the internship?

“The most exciting part of my internship was being creative to get more students to attend the Career Fest. We managed to get a bigger turn out than the previous year which was a great milestone to reach as a team. Another exciting part of my internship was the connections I made with Davenport staff members or employers around Michigan. Making connections is the best thing you can do, like they say ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’ And that really does go a long way especially when you step out of your comfort zone and approach those successful employers.”

What are your short and long term plans for after graduation?

“After graduation I am moving to Iceland to play professional soccer for UMF Sindri. My short term goal is to grow as much as possible in my first year of playing under a professional contract to get prepared for my long term goal. As a first contract this is only for a year and a lot could happen within that year. This leads into my long term plans. After my first year I aim on playing in as many different countries as I can before I hang my cleats up, my previous goal was to play in five different countries. That was before I met the director of Hello West Michigan, Cindy Brown and she asked me why just five? Why not 10? From that conversation I have expanded my list of places I want to play and my vision and motivation has gotten deeper. After this soccer journey, I aspire to become a professional soccer agent, or own my own business along the lines of recruitment.”

How has completing an internship prepared you for your career?

“Completing my internship has prepared me for adjusting to diversity. Obviously moving to another country where the second language is English will be a struggle for me at first but with how I have to adjust sometimes at my internship I feel like that has prepared me big time. This has also given me a guideline of what I am aiming to do in the Human Resource field, and how I can get there.”

Please add any other information you would like to share about your internship or the process of obtaining one?

“Internships are a great way to prepare for your dream job. It helps you build confidence in your weak areas, maintain, if not exceed, your strengths, and it really is enjoyable. The one thing I would say, is that you have to put in the work to have a great experience in learning about your field. The process of finding an internship can be very frustrating if you leave it until the last minute. I highly recommend completing your work way before the deadlines you are given.”

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