Governors State University hosted another Male Success Initiative (MSI) on Feb. 11 in room D1496. Initiated by Delton Pierce, assistant director of campus traditions and leadership, the MSI is a program designed to enrich male students in their academic and professional careers and enhance their personal development.

Targeted mainly toward young males of color, this event is usually held at least once every semester. Each event provides advice, guidance, counsel, and encouragement for all male students of GSU. Each meeting is structured around a theme that a lot of young male students face, and each offers a set of new activities, guests, and topics.

The topic of the Feb. 11 session was the importance of gaining internship experience and the resources which are available to students to attain them. This event’s guest speaker was employer relations/internship specialist Kristina Gray from the Career Services Department.

Following refreshments, Gray began her presentation and asked attendees: “What is your career superpower?” Grey’s concept is that each person has a special ability on the job that helps their company or employer perform better.  Things such as being adaptable, hard working, and determination  were career superpowers mentioned by students.

Gray shared with all attendees some important qualities to have on those jobs that attendees said the desired and explained how internships were a great way of gaining relevant work experience to best position themselves for long-term careers.

After the event, Gray said she felt most of the students who attended gained a lot from the meeting, stating, “I think that most students received it positively and were able to walk away with at least one tip or strategy for when they are job hunting that they may have not been doing before.” 

Sophomore Oleg Sabetskii said, “The event was an eye opening experience for internships and how to apply for one. The presentation and the speaker had some words of wisdom of how to apply and look for internships. I will be looking for internships in order to better my resume.”