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Optimizing Career Excellence, Achievement, & Networking (OCEAN) Division of Student Affairs

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About OCEAN

three female students with their cap and gowns smiling at the camera

Campus-wide Internship Program

Welcome to the Campus-wide Internship Program entitled OCEAN, which stands for Optimizing Career Excellence and Achievement Networks. The program is designed to support students along their trajectory in meeting career readiness and workforce development goals. The Internship Program is marked by the following high-level goals to open students up to a sea of possibilities:

  • Create opportunities for job placement and progress
  • Cultivate professional skills in alignment with the academic course of study
  • Develop real world experiences that position students for future employment options
  • Promote workforce engagement and experiential learning by fostering learning by doing
  • Lend to the fabric of the institution by giving back through professional, graduate, and undergraduate level positions guided by the goals and needs of collaborating Divisions and departments

Frequently Asked Questions for Student Internship Participants

Internship job postings are hosted on the Handshake website. Please see the Career Center website for more information on job posting at the Career Center Jobs website.

Career Center Jobs website

The internship begins on August 11th with training prior to the start of school for the Fall 2025 program launch. The program begins in August for the 2026-2027 academic year for new employees. Interns hired in 2025 can work through the summer if they have met performance standards.

Weekly hours are set by your hiring department with student workers working up to no more than 20 hours per week. SSP IA level positions are full-time and work 40 hours per week.

Frequently Asked Questions for Divisional and Departmental Collaborators

The Internship will be for the duration of two years. Departments will only need to recruit for new positions due to students graduating or based on performance.

All interns will be evaluated in Spring 2026. The evaluation tool will be provided by the IRA Internship Program for students. See the evaluation section of this website for details.

Personnel should be evaluated according to Bargaining Unit rules for SSP positions as a part of Unit 4.

This will be done if the employee meets performance standards and has reached the 1-year anniversary mark in the training series. The Student Affairs Business Resources Team will work with departments with SSP IA Positions.

SSP IA positions if successful will migrate to SSP IB Positions. If you wish to hire another grouping of SSP IA positions, you will need to acquire a separate funding source since your reclassified SSP 1Bs if successful will hold these positions.

President Wood and a student smiling at the camera during graduation

All full-time positions (e.g., SSP positions) are reviewed by the Office of the President. Continuing positions will not need re-approval at the undergraduate and graduate levels if they are continuing from the original launch of the program. New position allocations will need to be vetted by the Office of the President for final approval if the positions for the coming year are brand new. A Proposal Summary Form has been created to submit a new proposal and garner next steps. Please contact watsonml@csus.edu for the form.

Three male students sitting and smiling at the camera during graduation ceremony with their cap and gowns.

Timeline for Internship Recruitment and Execution 2025-2026

Date Timeline Event
August 2025 Kick-Off Training
September 2025 Intern Campus Resource Fair and Workplace Lecture “Life Work”
October 2025 – March 2026 Assessment of the Intern Experience
January 2026 Recruitment Planning (Begins for interns for the upcoming academic year). The process includes PD preparation, planning, and review.
February 2026 Intern Position Identification and Proposed Planning
End of March 2026 Deadline to post intern positions on Handshake
  Please notate all IRA Intern Postings on Handshake as “IRA Internship”
April 2026 Internship Fair/Celebration; Capstone Projects Due
  Note: The Capstone Project Prompt will be sent to Division heads.
May 2026 Finalize position selection prior to the end of the Spring term; Evaluate current year outcomes
June 2026 Submission of key information for position number awarding
July 2026 Position Number Assignment by Administration and Business Affairs
July 2026 Informal Convening of IRA Interns working over the summer.
August 2026 Interns begin their campus level training and work.

Upcoming Events and Networking Sessions

Date Event
Monday, August 11th, 2025 Internship Training & Mixer Session Options: 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 13th, 2026 Internship Hiring Fair/Celebration 10 am – 2 pm (Details TBA)

Monthly Trainings

Global career training sessions will be held in the Spring 2026 semester to cultivate professional development as offered by the Career Center in partnership with Student Academic Success and Educational Equity Programs. See the Career Center’s social media channels for details.

Career Workshop Dates:

  • March 11th Workshop: Skills in the Workplace
  • April 7th Workshop: Interviewing Tips & Tools.

Evaluation Information

IRA Internship Points of Contact

Name Area/Responsibility
Dr. Marcellene Watson-Derbigny General Internship Questions / Strategic Planning
Nikkie Khamsouksay Office of the President Lead
Shannon Ainger IRA Budgetary Questions
Amy Brown SSP IA and SSP IB Positions
Kendall Newman Position Numbers and ABA Questions
Vicky Tan Intern Analyst-Operations and Data Questions, Career Workshops, and Program Coordination
Le Van Nguyen Student Events and Assistant Support

Intern Testimonial

“The Internship helped me build career ready skills for college and life success.”