Jesse Pyle said Thursday that if you want an internship, you start looking for it a year and a half before you want it.

Pyle, the coordinator for internships and experiential learning at Career Services, led a workshop on internships at the West Library.

She feels that internships are valuable for Texas Wesleyan students as they provide for a more hands-on experience.

“It helped me realize that I did not want to pursue ideology,” she said of her college internship. “I learned very early on, through that job shadowing experience, just what it would be like day in and day out.”

During the presentation, Pyle stressed that internships can provide valuable experience, as well as give students confidence in the career they plan on pursuing. Internships also give students insight on what they want to do in their careers, supply networking opportunities, provide academic credit in some cases, and training and skills in a chosen career field. Some internships also lead into full-time jobs.

When it comes to whether or not a student should choose a summer job or internship, Pyle stressed that it’s a personal choice and students should really weigh the pros and cons of each choice.

Robert Bradshaw, a biochemistry major, said the presentation made him think about how soon he should be looking for an internship.

“It made me rethink about an internship opportunity I had in the past,” he said.

Raul Caballero Montes, another biology major who attended, felt that the presentation “was a good presentation, the PowerPoint and everything was good, really good information, but it was nothing new for me.”

He said that for most students interested in internships, the information Pyle presented is not new, and these students are already looking and researching internships that they plan on applying to.

“The presentation lacks some samples, how to do it,” he said.

He also said that most of the information on the presentation is well known and easy to access via the Internet.

To end the presentation, Pyle provided multiple methods with which students can learn more about internships. She said faculty and Career Services, which is located in the Nick and Lou Martin University Center, are two excellent sources.

She said the next Career Services event will be a mentor luncheon, an event to build networking skills and for students to practice having conversations about their profession.