North Park has served five generations of students and continues to grow in diversity, academic relevance, and Christian commitment. Our Chicago location is a great asset that reflects the School’s global reach and outlook.
After 125 years, we’ve learned how to streamline the process of helping qualified applicants seek admission to North Park and find affordable ways to attend. If you don’t see what you’re looking for on our website, please contact us directly!
North Park offers more than 40 graduate and undergraduate programs in liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies. Classes average 17 students. 84% of our faculty have terminal degrees. Academics here are rigorous and results-oriented.
North Park Theological Seminary prepares you to answer the call to service through theological study, spiritual development, and the formative experiences of living in a community with others on a similar life path.
The Office of Alumni Engagement fosters lifelong connections by engaging alumni with the university and one another in activities, programs, and services that support the university’s mission and alumni needs.
The Career Development and Internship Office honored an intern of the year and an internship host of the year at the Eighth Annual Networking Dinner.
The Career Development and Internship Office (CDIO) walks alongside students from the beginning of their academic careers at North and even after they graduate, offering guidance for career goals and assisting with resumes, internships, and interviewing strategies, and more. One of their valuable offerings to students is the annual CDIO Networking Dinner—an event where students have the opportunity to sit over a meal with professionals for networking opportunities. Evelyne Peterson, the career programs manager of the CDIO, highlights the benefits of the event. “There’s a lot of skill development that students don’t necessarily get just through the classroom experience, so this one of those good guidepost experiences while they’re at North Park.”
This year, a new aspect was incorporated into the dinner: internship awards. On April 4, the CDIO honored an intern of the year and an internship host of the year at the Eighth Annual Networking Dinner. According to Renee Tucker Martinez, the CDIO’s career education specialist, the awards were created to recognize students’ hard work at internships as well as the internships that host North Park students. “This is the city of Chicago; there are boundless opportunities for students to build preprofessional resumes,” she says, in hopes that the awards will encourage more students to explore internship opportunities.
Winner of the Intern of the Year Award, Mi Ran Choi C’20 is a cello performance major also working towards a certificate in music for social change and human values. Choi was nominated by Dr. Tom Zelle based on her internship with The People’s Music School. With the help of resources from the CDIO and conversations with Dr. Zelle, Choi got connected with Ewa Sarota-Raczek, program manager of the non-profit organization dedicated to making music education accessible to communities.
With immense gratitude for her internship experience at The People’s Music School, Choi says, “In the two years I have worked with them, my perspectives on music, social change, and human values have greatly expanded, and it is always a delight to see the students I work with growing into caring young adults.” Primarily working with the Albany Park Youth Orchestras, Choi assisted with administrative tasks and in music theory and strings classes, where she learned about the inner workings of music education. In regard to her future, Choi mentions that the internship has further enhanced her interest in nonprofit music organizations as well as connecting music education to social justice. “This has served as a humbling reminder to me that music is so much more than what is written on pages; rather, it is what connects us all through a common, underlying pulse of humanity.”
Sean Cariño, an infection control practitioner at the Swedish Covenant Hospital, won the Internship Host of the Year Award after being nominated by his intern Eduardo Vaca C’20, a biochemistry major. Cariño emphasizes the importance of data and experience to his interns, saying, “It’s not the formulas you memorize that make you better, it’s how creative you are with what you’ve got.” In order to decrease the risk of infection in patients, Cariño taught Vaca how to collect and analyze his own data regarding the hand hygiene of the hospital employees; he also invited to Vaca to meetings, where he could expand his network and was challenged to learn about professionalism and real-world problems.
Cariño, who has been working with North Parkers for a year, recalls his own meaningful internship experiences. “It really was the mentors who took care of me that made me appreciate where I am now, so one of my biggest impetuses is to be who I needed when I was young.” Which goes hand in hand with what Vaca says about his internship experience. “Sean’s mentorship and just genuine friendship has been a priceless support for me right now, and I could not be more grateful.”
Two North Parkers share how they found their summer internships and what they gained.
Every year, North Park students seek internships and jobs within the city of Chicago. We followed up with two North Park students who found their internships through North Park’s Career Development and Internships Office (CDIO). The CDIO assists current students and graduates in finding jobs and internships related to their fields.
“When I applied for my summer internship, I asked the CDIO for help. They sent me additional internships to apply for outside of the Career Hub, North Park’s job board. The CDIO was invited to some of my classes and talked about writing cover-letters and making CVs, which may be important for creative careers. They also helped me during the process for obtaining credit over the summer as well.
I found a paid position as a graphic design intern. I designed and updated print ads for directories of US manufacturers. The directories are sold by state and there is an online subscription that may be purchased by businesses. There is also a directory for all of the wholesalers and distributors in the entire country, along with an Illinois services directory.
The people I worked with are very friendly, and we have similar interests. The work culture is honest. I have learned about what happens before and after an ad is made, which is something that I did not know much about before. The company was flexible and is very organized.
I suggest students start looking and applying for summer internships during their sophomore year, instead of junior year. Shadowing people before and during the process of job searching, or even meeting with them for coffee can be helpful in finding the right position. For creative people, I recommend checking out art galleries for internships too. Non-profits are generally more flexible with internships, even though they do not pay. There is a wide range of potential for graphic design work.
Because of my summer internship that I found with the help of CDIO, I feel more likely to go into this professional field after I graduate. I also found that my worries about this field were unfounded.”
Grace So, C’18
“From the beginning of my freshman year, the CDIO provided resources to get me the opportunities I received this summer. I have been polishing my resume since the first semester of freshman year and have met with a variety of staff at different times during the four years I was at North Park in regards to career direction, branding myself, developing a LinkedIn profile, and actually looking for a specific internship/job opportunity.
In regards to the specific internship (or apprenticeship) that I got this summer, Renee Tucker-Martinez sent me several links to job descriptions of various kinds, and this one—production apprentice for Jellyvision Lab—caught my eye. At a CDIO networking dinner, I had the opportunity to meet a North Park alum who works there. I asked her several questions about the company and the position and decided to apply for the apprenticeship.
The company produces software that makes boring things fun. For example the product that I worked with the most is a software which companies use to help employees understand benefits and decide on the plan which works best for the employees. My specific role as a production apprentice was making sure the product which gets customized for various companies actually works as intended. I proof-read texts, edited scripts which go into the software, attended professional development trainings, and oversaw general product management.
At Jellyvision, I had the opportunity to receive an extensive training (5 weeks) covering everything from benefits to how a tech company operates and what tools it uses to manage the production process. I love that the company invested in me so that I am equipped to do my job well and understand the inner workings of the company. Everyone I worked with seems so talented, hard-working, and kind, that I often wondered how the company maintains such a close-knit, start-up culture.
I definitely used everything I had learned from my classes at North Park. As someone who studied Communication Studies, I was able to observe and apply my knowledge of how group communication works, what kind of relationship dynamics appear in a work setting, and how to avoid misunderstandings by being clearer in my communication. I also wrote and edited texts daily, so all the writing I did in college was worth it!
I couldn’t ask for a better work experience fresh out of college. Looking back on the job application processes, I now realize that employers look less at my major or the field of work I am interested in, and more at my skill-sets and experiences.”
North Park Senior Renee Baker is nominated for the prestigious Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship after completing an internship with NASA.
North Park Senior Renee Baker has been nominated for the prestigious Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding natural science major at one of the six colleges recognized by the Swedish Council of America as a Swedish Heritage College. North Park is recognized as such an institution because of its active connection with modern Scandinavia, via its language studies and academic exchange programs.
“I’m so incredibly honored to be nominated for this scholarship,” said Baker, an environmental science major, of the award named for the famed Swedish chemist.
She’s certainly worthy: while many college kids spend their break on the beach or working a part-time job, Baker was doing test flights with NASA. Last summer, Baker spent two months in California interning with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, tagging along on plane rides, collecting atmospheric data and learning how various instruments worked.
The Carol Stream, Illinois native actually applied for the NASA internship on something of a whim. “I honestly just got an email from [chemistry professor] Dr. Rienstra-Kiracofe, and I applied because, why not?” Baker says. Rienstra-Kiracofe provided a letter of recommendation, and the next thing Baker knew, she was on her way to Irvine, Ca.
In addition to the flying experience, Baker spent several weeks on campus at the University of California, Irvine, where she learned how to use tools to perform remote sensing and took a trip to the Jet Propulsion Lab. At the end of the internship, she and her group presented to a group of NASA employees and fellow students.
Ultimately, Baker, a physics minor, plans to pursue a career in alternative energy and biomimicry engineering, a field of science that seeks sustainable solutions to human-generated problems by copying patterns in nature. For instance, scientists who specialize in biomimicry are testing new plumbing and electric systems that mimic the branch-like structure of trees and leaves, as they may be more efficient than pipes positioned at right angles.
Baker will find out in March if she has won the coveted Seaborg prize, which includes airfare to Sweden, a living stipend, and participation in December’s Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, a weeklong series of events arranged in connection with Nobel Peace Prize activities.
Sean Cariño, an infection control practitioner at the Swedish Covenant Hospital, won the Internship Host of the Year Award after being nominated by his intern Eduardo Vaca C’20, a biochemistry major. Cariño emphasizes the importance of data and experience to his interns, saying, “It’s not the formulas you memorize that make you better, it’s how creative you are with what you’ve got.” In order to decrease the risk of infection in patients, Cariño taught Vaca how to collect and analyze his own data regarding the hand hygiene of the hospital employees; he also invited to Vaca to meetings, where he could expand his network and was challenged to learn about professionalism and real-world problems.
Author Ana SeklerPosted on Categories News, Stories
North Park Senior Renee Baker has been nominated for the prestigious Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding natural science major at one of the six colleges recognized by the Swedish Council of America as a Swedish Heritage College. North Park is recognized as such an institution because of its active connection with modern Scandinavia, via its language studies and academic exchange programs.