Internships

At the end of March 2022, per a request from VCU, the Foundation arranged meetings at NASA/Wallops, Space Authority and Rocket Lab. Professors from the VCU School of Engineering as well as others attended these meetings. The meetings proved to be exceptionally fruitful for VCU engineering students as potential internship opportunities were identified. Subsequently, VCU’s School of Engineering arranged meetings with NASA for approximately 20 students who then visited the Wallops facility. The VCU students were enthusiastic and it is likely that internships will be finalized for 2023. (Recruiting interns from VCU College of Engineering gives you access to a cohort of students well-prepared to succeed in the workplace. VCU Engineering students participate in over 300 internship and co-op experiences each year. To learn more about how your organization can connect to career-ready interns, email engrcareers@vcu.edu.)

NASA Training staff described one of the related benefits of these internships as being the opportunity for housing at the NASA facility. This would be of great benefit for student interns.

To the extent that demand for these internships exceeds housing availability, the Foundation is committed to working with local organizations to identify temporary housing for VCU interns.

In the future, the Foundation will be working with other schools and departments within VCU to identify additional internships for VCU students. The Foundation is committed to establishing many opportunities for VCU here on the Eastern Shore. These, we believe, will result in permanent jobs and lead to greater economic development here - for both employers and future employees, VCU students are key to this success.

As described by the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, "There is simply no other place like the Eastern Shore of Virginia." Separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Chesapeake Bay, this "land between two waters," offers access to American's rocket and maritime industries with the best of small town life. It is a safe and welcoming environment with multiple opportunities for learning, internships, and good jobs.