Anasia Wattie had everything in place to graduate from Old Dominion University, except for one essential missing piece for her degree — an internship.
She planned to go home to Chester for an internship, but that opportunity fell through. And she needed documentation of an internship to walk at the spring commencement.
Fortunately for Wattie, the Monarch Internship and Co-op Office was there to help. The on-campus office, with a mission to empower students with access to transformative internship opportunities, marked its one-year anniversary on July 1.
Since opening, more than 1,200 students have reached out to the office, said Barbara Blake, the department’s executive director. ODU has 24,000 students.
Wattie, a McNair Scholar majoring in human services and criminal justice, was the first student to receive assistance thanks to recent grant funding.
Wattie secured a 10-week summer internship at a counseling group in downtown Norfolk, but her lease was up at the end of May. She said the internship office helped her secure on-campus housing, a meal plan and parking for the summer.