Campus Recreation Student Intern

Penn State University•University Park, IL

About The Position

The Campus Recreation Leadership Intern is an integral member of Penn State’s Campus Recreation team, supporting operations, human resources, and student development initiatives in alignment with the department’s mission and Student Development Model. The internship offers two concentration tracks: Recreation & Operations, or Human Resources & Student Development. Interns gain hands-on experience in a complex organizational structure serving more than 600 student employees while developing competencies in leadership, assessment, and organizational effectiveness. The Recreation & Operations track supports day-to-day operations, staff supervision and scheduling, risk management, facility inspections, audits, equipment oversight, hiring and training, programs and events, and analysis of participation, staffing, and facility-use data. The Human Resources & Student Development track supports recruitment, onboarding, employee experience, the Student Development Model and leadership curriculum, data analysis, onboarding redesign, recognition and engagement strategies, communications, training compliance, and documentation. All interns attend staff meetings and trainings, collaborate on assessment and reporting projects, facilitate or co-facilitate staff development, complete a capstone project aligned with departmental strategic priorities, and participate in cross-department experiences. The internship is 40 hours per week during one academic semester in the summer and pays $16.00 per hour. Employment requires successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

Requirements

Be enrolled in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management; Human Resources; Labor and Employment Relations; or a related field.
Strong communication, organization, and time-management skills.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a professional environment.
CPR/AED and First Aid certification; certification can be obtained at hire.
Willingness to work evenings or weekends.
Ability to balance academic and job responsibilities.
Successful completion of required background check(s).

Responsibilities

Support day-to-day operations, staff supervision, scheduling, and risk management in assigned unit areas, depending on concentration.
Participate in facility inspections, audits, and equipment oversight, depending on concentration.
Assist with hiring, training, and development of student employees, depending on concentration.
Coordinate or assist with programs, events, and workshops, depending on concentration.
Collect and analyze participation, staffing, and facility-use data, depending on concentration.
Assist with recruitment, onboarding, and employee experience initiatives across unit areas, depending on concentration.
Support implementation of the Campus Recreation Student Development Model and leadership curriculum, depending on concentration.
Gather and analyze retention, compliance, and assessment data, depending on concentration.
Contribute to onboarding redesign, recognition programs, and engagement strategies, depending on concentration.
Support staff communications, training compliance, and documentation processes, depending on concentration.
Attend and contribute to staff meetings and trainings.
Collaborate on departmental assessment and reporting projects.
Facilitate or co-facilitate staff development initiatives.
Complete a capstone project aligned with departmental strategic priorities.
Engage in cross-department experiences to build systems-level understanding.