Many students see admissions representatives leading tours and hosting open houses; however, what many don’t see is the behind the scenes work of the admissions department. This year, six BSM students were selected to participate in a brand-new admissions internship program where they will plan events and connect with professionals in the field.

The program is one of BSM’s internship opportunities where students receive credit for the internship on their transcript while also gaining professional experience. “It was created to provide a professional opportunity for students to explore a field not only in admissions, but to maybe learn more about similar fields in sales, marketing, communications and beyond. So, students will have an opportunity to work with some of the admissions events on campus, our stewardship initiatives, but also be able to connect with outside professionals who have experience in the fields that I mentioned previously,” Senior High Admissions Director Betsy Van Cleve said.

Interns will use their ties to a younger community to help the admissions department connect with prospective and incoming students. “Interns will also help with some of the marketing strategies specific to admissions. So how are we connecting with young students to shape [and] showcase what Red Knight life looks like? So really, there’s a wide range of tasks that the interns will be asked to assist with, with the idea that these also have meaning to them,” Van Cleve said.

Senior Samantha Steensland has been a part of the admissions program at BSM in some shape or form since freshman year and is excited to work on the behind the scenes aspect this year. “I have known Mrs. Van Cleve for about four years now. I used to take around students [as a] student ambassador…students would shadow me for the day, and I probably had about 20 and I’ve loved every one that I’ve had. And I love interacting and meeting new people. And this seems like the perfect internship for that because we’ll be interacting with new families, new students, in schools across the metro,” Steensland said.

This program also allows students to explore a possible career path in marketing, sales, and communications. “I have always been really interested in…marketing, communications, admissions type deals, especially when it comes to schools. And I think that this could definitely be something that will allow me to test this out and see how I feel about it and see if this is like the direction I want to go within my college career and within my business degree,” Steensland said.

Although it is still early in the year, Van Cleve has high hopes for the program and is focused on ensuring a beneficial and enjoyable experience for the interns. “[My goal is] a positive experience for the Red Knight interns, that they feel like it was well worth their time and effort to take part. My hope is also that our prospective families see the benefit of their hard work, especially from the stewardship, making sure that visitors feel welcome,” Van Cleve said.

After their first meeting, Steensland is looking forward to working with her fellow interns and diving deeper into a field that interests her. “I think we have a great group of interns. I genuinely enjoy everyone that I’ll be interning with. And I’m really excited for this year especially to meet new BSM families and tell them about Benilde, which is a community that myself and everybody else just loves so much,” Steensland said.