Student Success Internship
Gain hands-on experience helping college students succeed.
The Through The Waters Student Success Internship gives undergraduate students the opportunity to contribute to real student-success work while completing an academic internship or practicum.
Interns help facilitate Study Buddies sessions, support the team’s work with university partners, create student-facing content, and bring an authentic student perspective into the work we are building.
- Fully Remote
- 5–10 Hours Per Week
- Summer · Fall · Spring
- Unpaid · For Academic Credit
Built with college students, for college students.
The role
More than observing from the sidelines.
You’ll contribute to work the organization is actually doing, rather than to hypothetical classroom projects.
Student Success Interns take an active role in Through The Waters’ work with college students.
The internship combines several areas of experience, including peer facilitation, university partnership support, student outreach, content creation, and program feedback.
Interns work remotely and independently while also collaborating with the Through The Waters team and, when applicable, student leaders at university partner campuses.
Your experience
A role with several ways to contribute.
Study Buddies Facilitation
Help host and facilitate online Study Buddies sessions for college students. You’ll learn how to guide the simple session structure, welcome participants, support a focused online environment, and help students work alongside one another.
University Partnership Support
Collaborate with the Through The Waters team and student leaders at university partner campuses as Study Buddies is introduced and developed. This may include helping think through student engagement, peer-led programming, and campus-specific outreach.
Student-Facing Content
Help create authentic, peer-to-peer content about college life, student success, well-being, focus, and Study Buddies. Depending on your role, this may include brainstorming, scripting, filming, or editing short-form video content for social media.
Campus Outreach
Help develop practical, student-centered ways to introduce Study Buddies and related resources to college students. You’ll think about what students actually notice, what language resonates, and how peer-to-peer outreach can complement institutional communication.
Feedback & Engagement
Help us pay attention to how students are using Study Buddies. This can include reviewing participation information, gathering student feedback, noticing patterns, and helping identify ways the student experience could improve.
Creative & Student-Success Projects
As a small organization, new projects come up. Interns may also contribute to branding, communications, user testing, research, or other student-success initiatives based on the needs of the organization and the student’s interests and skills.
You may not work in every area every semester.
Responsibilities can vary depending on current university partnerships, projects, and organizational priorities.
Learning & development
Build skills by doing the work.
The internship is designed to help students develop practical career-readiness skills through real projects, supervision, feedback, and collaboration.
You may build experience in areas such as:
Leadership & Teamwork
Collaborating with peers, student leaders, and university partners while contributing to shared projects.
Communication
Bringing an authentic student voice into online sessions, student-facing content, outreach, and team communication.
Critical Thinking
Looking at student engagement and feedback, identifying barriers, and contributing ideas for improvement.
Community Facilitation
Learning how to create a welcoming, structured online environment where students can work alongside peers.
Content Creation
Translating student-success and psychology-informed ideas into accessible content for a college-student audience.
Remote Professionalism
Managing responsibilities, communicating proactively, meeting deadlines, and working independently in a remote environment.
How we work
Real responsibility, with supervision and support.
Interns are expected to take their responsibilities seriously, but you are not expected to arrive knowing how to do everything.
You’ll receive supervision, direction, feedback, and opportunities to ask questions as you learn.
Because the internship is fully remote, you’ll also practice managing your time, communicating clearly, and following through independently.
Weekly team meeting
Interns participate in a one-hour weekly leadership meeting by Zoom.
Current internship schedules use Mondays at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
Supervision
Interns are directly supervised by Dr. Jackie Parke, a licensed psychologist who specializes in working with college students.
Qualifications
Students who are ready to contribute and learn.
The Student Success Internship is designed primarily for undergraduate juniors and seniors.
Academic Standing
Current undergraduate junior or senior with a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Areas of Study
Students studying psychology, social work, education, marketing, communications, or related fields.
Interest in College Students
A genuine interest in student well-being, academic success, and the college-student experience.
Creativity
Comfort contributing ideas and creating informal, student-to-student content. Some internship responsibilities may involve appearing on camera.
Technology
Comfort using video-conferencing tools such as Zoom and basic video-editing tools such as CapCut, Premiere, or similar platforms.
Reliability
Ability to work independently in a remote environment, communicate when help is needed, and meet agreed-upon deadlines.
Academic experience
Designed for internship or practicum credit.
Through The Waters will work with your college or university to help the internship meet your school’s requirements.
Because requirements differ by institution, students are responsible for confirming their own program’s eligibility and paperwork requirements.
The internship is unpaid and completed for academic credit.
Internship terms
Opportunities throughout the academic year.
Summer
May – June
Fall
August – December
Spring
January – May
Specific start dates, end dates, and application deadlines may vary by year and university calendar.
Built with students
We want to know what you really think.
We want students to contribute to the work, not only receive it.
Through The Waters creates programs and resources for college students.
So college students need a meaningful voice in shaping them.
If a message sounds awkward, tell us.
If a Study Buddies workflow doesn’t make sense, tell us.
If students at your school would respond differently, we want to know.
Interns bring perspectives that the people designing a program from outside the student experience can easily miss.
What guides us
How we work matters too.
Through The Waters is guided by five core values:
- Love
- Presence
- Learning
- Generosity
- Margins
For interns, that means being part of a team that aims to treat people with care, listen closely, stay open to learning, contribute generously, and remain attentive to people and perspectives that can be easy to overlook.
Apply
Interested in becoming a Student Success Intern?
Students may apply through:
- Handshake
- their university’s career-services platform
- or directly through Through The Waters
You can also email hello@throughthewaters.org.
Because the internship is completed for academic credit, we recommend checking your university’s internship or practicum requirements as part of the application process.
Questions about the internship
Is the internship remote?
Yes.
The Through The Waters Student Success Internship is fully remote.
Interns should be comfortable working independently, participating in Zoom meetings, and managing responsibilities in a remote environment.
Is the internship paid?
No.
The internship is unpaid and designed to be completed for academic internship or practicum credit.
Can I receive academic credit?
Yes, provided the internship meets the requirements of your academic program.
Through The Waters will work with your college or university to support the documentation and requirements for internship or practicum credit.
Students are responsible for confirming their own school’s eligibility requirements.
How many hours per week is the internship?
The standard commitment is approximately 5–10 hours per week.
There may be some flexibility to accommodate the requirements of your academic program.
When is the internship offered?
Internships are typically offered during:
Summer: May–June
Fall: August–December
Spring: January–May
Specific dates may vary.
Is there a required meeting?
Yes.
Interns participate in a one-hour weekly leadership Zoom meeting, currently scheduled for Mondays at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
Who supervises the internship?
Interns are directly supervised by Dr. Jackie Parke, a licensed psychologist who specializes in working with college students.
What majors are you looking for?
Psychology, social work, education, marketing, communications, and related fields are especially relevant.
Students from related disciplines may also be considered when their skills and interests fit the work.
Do I need to be a junior or senior?
The internship is currently designed for undergraduate juniors and seniors.
Applicants should have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Do I need experience making videos?
You do not need to be a professional content creator.
However, interns should be comfortable contributing to informal student-facing content, including appearing on camera when needed.
Familiarity with basic editing tools such as CapCut, Premiere, or similar software is helpful.
Will I facilitate Study Buddies?
Study Buddies facilitation is one of the core internship experiences.
Depending on the semester and current programming, interns may help host online Study Buddies sessions and support the structured peer co-working experience.
Bring your perspective to the work.
If you’re interested in college student success and want practical experience contributing to programs, content, and peer support, we’d like to hear from you.
Fully remote · 5–10 hours per week · unpaid, for academic credit.