About Career Exploration and Experiential Learning at SCU

Mission

Inspired by Ignatian pedagogical principles and the spirit of Jesuit education, the CAS Office of Internships works to provide meaningful internship and experiential learning opportunities for all undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences from their first year through their final year of academic experience at Santa Clara.

Vision

Through strategic partnerships, community relationships, and campus allies, students will be able to take theory into practice, applying concepts and processes learned in the classroom into real world settings. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences will develop professionally and gain insights into their own career aspirations. The CAS Office of Internships will provide support to all academic departments, cultivating and strengthening internship and experiential learning opportunities for all majors within the College. These endeavors will allow the CAS Office of Internships to increase the overall number of internship opportunities available to our students throughout the academic year, monitor the number of students served, and assess student learning.

Values

Transformative experiences and Ignatian pedagogy of educating the whole person to support and empower students.

About the Director

Sarah Hays is the inaugural Director of Internships for the College of Arts and Sciences. Though new to this position, she brings over 16 years of experience, both as faculty and staff, at Santa Clara University. Most recently, Sarah served as the Senior Director of Student Services for the School of Education & Counseling Psychology for 6.5 years. Sarah is also a quarterly adjunct lecturer in the Public Health department, joining the faculty in 2015. She continues to serve as the department’s internship manager and as program manager of the Valeriote-Goldman Public Health Leadership Fellowship program.

Sarah is an alum of the Master of Arts in Counseling program in the School of Education & Counseling Psychology, holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Benedictine University and recently began her doctoral studies in the School of Education & Counseling Psychology in the summer of 2022, pursuing a Doctorate in Education (EdD) in social justice leadership, with a focus in higher education.