By: Sarah Bonney

Once our first couple years of college come to a close, parents, professors, advisors, and friends start dropping “internship” like it’s the newest slang. “It makes you stand out!” “You’d get some great experience.” “You won’t be able to get a good job unless you’ve done at least one.” “Graduate schools love students who’ve done internships!” There’s a lot of talk about how great they can be but significantly less conversation about how to get one in the first place.

Finding and doing an internship can seem overwhelming, especially to any student who’s been told their major isn’t a moneymaker. However, it’s a lot easier than you’d think. For the last few years, Humanities Plus (Humanities+) has provided resources for internships and other career building experiences to Humanities majors. Recently, English Plus (English+) debuted to guide English majors. English Plus focuses on helping English majors build professional skills during their time at BYU. There are numberless opportunities for English majors in the workplace; however, in order to get a dream job, an English BA might need a bit of a makeover.

You’ve all heard the story where the already wonderful girl wants the guy, but she doesn’t think she has a chance. But then, her friend or fairy godmother or someone else shows up and gives her the makeover of a lifetime. Post makeover, the guy can’t take his eyes off her and dreams come true all over the place. The English major is to the girl as your dream job  is to the dreamboat; English Plus is your fairy godmother. Need a ride to the ball? Talk to an academic advisor.

With classes, on-campus jobs, and other obligations, it’s easy to feel you don’t have the time to do an internship, but there are options on-campus. The Marriott Center offers On-Campus Internships (OCI). In an OCI, a student is assigned to work with a small team of other students; together they complete a project for a company such as Amazon, Pearson, or another big name. If you’re less interested in business, the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance also offers internships on campus; however, these internships are focused on helping the community and humanitarian efforts.

Internships for BYU English majors are available literally around the world. Although international travel can be pricey, funding is available for unpaid academic internships through each department in the College of the Humanities, including the English Department. $2000 is available for international internships, $1000 is available for a national internship outside of Utah, and $500 is available for in-state and local internships that are not on campus. You can apply for these grants by contacting Prof. Dave Fife, the English Department’s internship coordinator.

There are plenty of people who believe that an English major is impractical, but you can prove them wrong. With a little help from English Plus and maybe an internship or two, you’ll have your dreamboat before you know it.