Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010 - (Page 31)

June 7, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page M31 DETROIT-AREA GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS See who’s on Crain’s list, what degrees are offered, Page 42 business ISTOCKPHOTO.COM education the W hat’s the best way to promote the benefits of internships? Recognize the region’s top intern and those employers that provide the best opportunities. A few months ago, Crain’s Detroit Business got together with the Detroit Regional Chamber’s InternInMichigan.com Yan Isayev, intern with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to come up with the Intern and Employer of the Year contest. Internships are a great way to stop the brain drain, but the on-the-job training can also save companies time and money if they decide to make their top interns full-time employees. Crain’s, which has a long tradition of recognizing local talent and employers through such recognition programs as 20 Slowing brain drain in their 20s, 40 under 40 and Cool Places to Work, selected one model intern and a for-profit and nonprofit employer as winners. There were 107 interns and 106 employers nominated for the recognition. All three received a paid trip to the chamber’s 2010 Mackinac Policy Conference, courtesy of InternInMichigan.com. The Intern of the Year also received an Apple iPad, courtesy of Crain’s. Not every internship ends in a job offer, but the selected intern treated the experience as a real audition, not just as satisfying a credit requirement. Selected employers have defined programs that offer interns genuine opportunities to learn and grow. You can read about them on the following pages. INTERN OF THE YEAR “With many interns, they’ll see an executive and keep their eyes down. Yan will introduce himself, ask for career advice and suggest a lunch meeting,” says Diane Cesarz, Yan Isayev’s supervisor at Blue Cross. Isayev, 21, is the first Intern of the Year selected by Crain’s Detroit Business and the Detroit Regional Chamber, Page M34 FOR-PROFIT EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR Construction company Barton Malow Co. of Southfield puts nearly 30 interns a year through its Learning Practicum for Students. The 656-employee firm employs 45 former interns. “Interns are encouraged ... to Maibach question what we are doing,” says Ryan Maibach, vice president of specialty contracting, Page M35 NONPROFIT EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR Interns with the University of Michigan Office of Development have a leg up on careers in fundraising. “Members of (the UM) community now look to our interns as valuable resources in achieving our fundraising goals,” says Program Walsh Director Katherine Walsh, Page M37 Honorable Mentions Justin Daymon, Creekside Community Development Corp. Scott Hogan, Reising, Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle P.C. Danielle Maxon, Judson Center Honorable Mentions Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Detroit Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, Southfield Henry Ford Estate-Fair Lane, Dearborn Honorable Mentions Ernst & Young L.L.P., Detroit Kraemer Design Group, Detroit O’Keefe & Associates, Bloomfield Hills Internships on front lines in fight to keep college grads in Michigan BY DUSTIN WALSH SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Courtney Czarnik needed an internship to complete her degree at Central Michigan University. But the marketing and logistics management senior couldn’t find one in Michigan. So last spring, she began looking out of state. Just before she left for an offer in California, Domino’s Pizza Inc. called Czarnik with a 12-week internship opportunity at its Ann Arbor headquarters; three months later, she was hired as an entry-level commodities specialist. Nearly half of the more than 300,000 students educated by Michigan’s 15 public universities will leave the Great Lakes state upon graduation for opportunities beyond the borders. In 2005-2007 — before the recession — Michigan lost nearly 14,000 college graduates, second only to post-Katrina Louisiana when business was still underwater, according to The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. But Czarnik is among an uncounted faction across metro Detroit: She’s living and working in Michigan because of her internship. And local business leaders believe that programs like it will help reverse the talent exodus that hampers the state’s ability to move forward. People behind the Detroit Regional Chamber’s InternInMichigan.com, for example, are out traversing the state to align companies with talent. Its goal is to get 25,000 Michigan students into internships by 2014. “There’s a misconception here that there aren’t any opportunities for graduates,” said Britany Affolter-Caine, the program’s director. “A lot of companies virtually have no (internship) recruiting efforts.” But some area companies offer substantive internship programs to prepare upcoming grads for employment here in Michigan. Their efforts are slowing, if not stopping, the brain drain. Making the connection Southfield-based construction company Barton Malow Co. looks for construction management majors after their freshman year. See Internships, Page M32 DUSTIN WALSH/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS “Our leaders are expected to hire interns that can transition into a full-time position here,” said Eric Parsons, vice president of talent management at Domino’s Pizza Inc. Case in point: Courtney Czarnik, whose 12-week internship led to her hiring as an entry-level commodities specialist. http://ISTOCKPHOTO.COM http://InternInMichigan.com http://InternInMichigan.com http://InternInMichigan.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010
In this Issue
Economic Makeover
Lesson Plan for Education Reform
Teaming Up for Action
Time for a Cultural Revolution
Defense Mechanism
Slowing the State's Brain Drain
Intern, Employers of the Year

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010