This fall, a Gustie student interned at the charitable foundation of the Minnesota Vikings. A student coordinated interfaith events with Saint Peter church leaders. One shadowed social workers in Nicollet County. Wilmer Svensson ’26 made scouting reports for 93HockeyServices, a U.S.-based agency that supports international players coming to the U.S. And Paige Davidson ’26 interned in medical illustration within the Biomedical and Scientific Visualization division of Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
All were in professor Eric Vrooman’s Signature Experience (SigX) internship companion course, which helped them reflect on their internship experiences, which will better prepare them for future work.
Professionalism is a career necessity; the course covered everything from LinkedIn profiles to conflict resolution. Students made SMART goals, and kept records of what tasks they completed at their internships. “It’s pushed me to network with people in the sports industry and understand different career paths,” says Svensson. The SigX course took it one step further, with a uniquely Gustavus spin. Vrooman helped each student uncover, develop, and tell their personal story. Such reflection “helped me slow down, process what I’m learning, and connect the internship experience to my long-term goals,” Svensson says.
“These are deep questions,” says Vrooman of what students were asked to consider in the SigX course. “How have past experiences led you to this internship? What skills do you have that the internship builds on? How will this internship lead you to your best future? This course is an opportunity to think about the why: who you are, what is important to you, and what path will give you meaning.”
Vrooman is uniquely suited to teach this companion course. He’s the creative writing professor who runs the Gustavus Writing Center, which, on average, employs 20 Gustie students who serve the entire student body. Helping students tell stories is his specialty.
The ability to tell one’s story is the oft-overlooked thread that can connect the dots between a student’s internship experience and their first full-time job.
What is the narrative arc students will tell their future employers? As a writer teaching writing courses, I’m helping them think that through.”
—professor Eric Vrooman
One surprise, he says, is the way students love learning about each other. “They listen to each other really well. They love to read each other’s work. They have a-ha moments where they think, ‘I could do something like that,’ or ‘I hadn’t thought about that as a choice, or a story.’ There’s real value in having a cohort of people telling their stories together.”
There’s a tendency for today’s college students to “collect” experiences they can check off the proverbial list: majors, minors, activities, internships, badges… “It’s easy to punch a clock at an internship and be ‘done,’” Vrooman says. The challenge for students is to look into the future beyond the checkboxes.
Gusties, through SigX, rise to that challenge. “This course creates a better sense of perspective and intentionality. If you have a story you believe about yourself and some idea of a future that you might be happy with and why, now there’s a potential you out there. And you can use your time to think strategically about how to become that person.”
Paige Davidson ’26 is a product of this kind of strategic thinking. At the tail end of her biology and studio art majors, with a trail of dance experience behind her, she could see a path to her future in her unique understanding of anatomy, art, and movement. She’s confidently chasing a career in medical illustration.
And that confidence has impressed her internship supervisor. “If someone is science- and arts-oriented, and a real go-getter, that’s what we want,” says Wes Price, senior director of Biomedical and Scientific Visualization at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. That’s Davidson, he says. In fact, he’s so impressed by her, he plans to help her prep her portfolio for graduate school. “The plan is to be colleagues for life,” Price says.
Davidson’s strength as a future professional comes from an abundance of self-awareness, professor Vrooman says. “And self-awareness is never going to hurt you.” Instead, it gives you tremendous advantage in the workplace. SigX is about amplifying self-awareness in today’s Gusties. Says Svensson, “SigX has helped me realize that I’m at my best when I have structure, deadlines, and clear communication—especially while working remotely. I’m motivated by roles where I can combine hockey knowledge with business skills. And I really enjoy helping athletes navigate opportunities.”
Says Vrooman, “Employers want to work with people who are interesting. If you’ve had interesting experiences and can talk compellingly and effectively about them, and what you’d like to do next, employers will want to work with you.”
