Chapel Executive Internship funding helps Liberal Arts student find her passion

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kay Adetiba wasn’t sure how to approach her LinkedIn internship experience in New York this summer, but thanks to the funding she received through the Virginia Todd Chapel Executive Internship Program in the College of the Liberal Arts, she has been able to immerse herself in opportunities to narrow down her potential career paths and goals.

The Chapel Executive Internship Program supports internship experiences for Liberal Arts students who achieve academic success and who seek top-level career development opportunities in the private sector. The program was established by Virginia "Jinnie" Todd Chapel and her husband, John, with leadership gifts creating an endowment now valued at $2.5 million. Virginia Todd Chapel graduated from Penn State in 1965 as an English major.

This year, the program offered 22 high-performing students a stipend of $5,000 for their internship experience.

Adetiba, a fourth-year student double majoring in communication arts and sciences and French and Francophone studies, said the Chapel Executive Internship funding has allowed her to explore the city and take advantage of opportunities she otherwise would not be able to experience.

“The Chapel funding has helped with being in the city and affording the resources that have allowed me to experience both the city and the internship fully in person,” she said. “I am taking advantage of all the experiences I am able to, including going to client events.”

Being able to attend work events outside of the traditional workday has helped Adetiba connect with her co-workers and learn about their varied experiences and career interests.

“I love the culture at LinkedIn. People are so open and inviting. Part of my intern project includes interacting and talking with people,” she said. “I’m really learning business but also learning about the purpose of engagement and building relationships with leadership.”

At LinkedIn, Adetiba is a global business intern within LinkedIn Sales Solutions. Through this role, she explores leadership engagement and best practices for communication and cooperation. She has been working on one big project for the entire summer, which is focused on executive engagement.

“I’m looking at the way that salespeople at LinkedIn can better create relationships with senior leadership at other companies,” Adetiba said.

Meeting leadership from other companies, Adetiba explained, allows her to utilize tools of communication to increase cooperation and engagement.

Adetiba credits the experiences she’s had within her Penn State journey as a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar for the success she’s found in her internship.

“Being a Paterno Fellow and a Schreyer Scholar really pushes you to do everything and really make use of all the resources that Penn State has. They’re really great programs to make sure that I am on track for my career, but they also make sure that I am excelling and pushing myself to make the most of my opportunities and experiences at Penn State.”

As a Paterno Fellow in the College of the Liberal Arts, Adetiba is expected to participate in out-of-classroom experiences — education abroad, internships, leadership positions and community service. She is a New Student Orientation leader and taught a course on cultural representation in Disney and Pixar films through the Students Teaching Students program at Penn State. Adetiba also serves as the marketing coordinator for the Penn State chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants.

Adetiba’s previous internship experiences include serving as marketing interns for Foodvisor and Hungry Pet Nutrition and a communications intern for City Relief.

“I have been able to take this leadership opportunity to help figure out how I want to lead and go about as an intern at LinkedIn,” she said. “I am networking more than I’ve ever been before to learn about career paths and to learn about experiences. This internship has helped me narrow down the professional career paths and goals that I am looking into.”

“I didn’t know I was going into sales originally, but this internship with LinkedIn has been completely fulfilling,” Adetiba said.

This is the first in a series of stories about Liberal Arts students participating in Chapel Executive Internships this summer. Students interested in applying for a Chapel Executive Internship for fall should apply by the Sept. 1 deadline through the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network.