For Sonoma County college students, June normally marks the beginning of the summer internship season, a time to gain valuable experience in the workplace and jump-start their careers. With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the economy, many students’ internship plans have been dashed or thrown into uncertainty.
As businesses reduce expenses, work mainly remotely and require employees who are in the office to adhere to prudent social distancing, many have canceled or postponed summer internships. For organizations still hiring interns, most have their college apprentices working online. While that counts as professional experience, these entry-level workers are missing out, for now, on valuable face-to-face interaction with veteran colleagues and managers.
“Given social distancing, everything has been turned upside down,” said Stan Moroz, who recently finished his fourth year at Santa Rosa Junior College and is an intern this summer at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato. He plans to transfer to UC Davis in the fall and study chemistry.
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