Externship Day

Externship Day 2025 is complete. Dates for 2026 will be revealed this summer!

Externships provide opportunities for undergraduate students to connect with Wheaton alumni (and new in 2025, with local employer partners) to gain firsthand insight into their workplace, job responsibilities, and career path. Externships let students connect with a professional in their industry of choice, begin networking in a friendly environment, and develop deeper connections with Wheaton alumni. Whether it is a life-long relationship or a quick one-day connection, Externships are a prime opportunity to connect students to alumni and local organizations with ties to the Wheaton family.

Externships take place in-person in the Chicagoland area, usually during Faculty Development Day in February. Approval of host site registration is conditional on alignment with Wheaton College's institutional commitments.

Why Host?

Alumni have provided feedback that they would like to see Wheaton better equip students for life after college. While we have increased resources and training within the CVC, we need YOUR help providing experiential learning opportunities for our students. We encourage summer internship, micro-internships, and we also believe that job-shadowing is of significant value. This one-day commitment on your part will provide vocational clarity for students, as well as a potential long-term relationship with you and your team.

How to Sign Up:

Externship Day 2025 has concluded. We will begin seeking hosts for 2026 during the summer of 2025. If you have interest, please reach out to cvc@wheaton.edu

Please be aware that approval of host site registration is conditional on alignment with Wheaton College's institutional commitments, as well as dependent on student participation. Thank you for understanding.

Expectations of Hosts:

If chosen to be an Externship host, you will be asked to provide the following:

If chosen, we need you to protect this commitment. We will assign students to your location and have the same expectation that they will honor their commitment to attend Externship Day.
Give students exposure to your work, your workspace, your team, and other experiences that wil make this a well-rounded experience.
Provide lunch for the students who arrive on-site.
Create space for them to converse with you and ask you questions. It's alright for them to experience meetings, calls, presentations, etc. but we ask you also create space for conversation with the student externs.
Students will be traveling to your location. Because of the time required for this, we ask that you provide a minimum of 4 hours of externship experience.

Timeline:

To be confirmed during summer 2025.

"I loved hosting students from Wheaton, especially because my externship when I was a Wheaton student was so formative for my career exploration and understanding of my calling."

-2017 Alumni Host

Why you should participate:

In short, going on an externship experience will give you meaningful connections to our alumni network, and will help you see an industry and organization with clarity you can't get any other way.

Data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as well as our own First Destination Survey data indicates that participation in experiential learning opportunities (job shadowing, internships, etc.) lead to vocational clarity, and ultimately job satisfaction.

We also see Wheaton students who participate in experiential learning opportunities tend to have stronger professional networks, which leads to career placement and advancement at higher rates than their peers without such experiences.

Student Expectations:

Externs must be a currently-enrolled undergraduate students at Wheaton College.
Students who register must commit to participate in the Externship where they are matched, even if they do not receive their top selection.
Students commit to contacting their alumni host once matched.
Students will attend one of two training sessions before heading out on Externship Day.

Student Extern Timeline:

2026 timeline will be announced during summer 2025

"[Externships] help you get prepared for the next steps after college in a small, non-intimidating, manageble does. Even if your end result is discovering what you DON'T like about a certain career field, I'd recommend this experience for everyone!"

-2017 Student Extern