Internships

Building your career after you graduate from college depends not only on developing knowledge and skills in the classroom, but on getting real-world experience in your field. At Champlain College we take that very seriously--and our 97% job placement rate of graduates attests to it.

Besides the hands-on experiences that are built into the professional core courses, our Hotel/Restaurant Management program includes two levels of internship experiences. After completing their first year of study, students complete a paid internship at a hotel, restaurant, or resort, designed to strengthen their on-the-job industry experience and help build a personal resume. Then, during the final semester of their bachelor's degree program, students select a Senior Hospitality Management Apprenticeship, where they gain a personal experience of the day-to-day challenges they will encounter as a supervisor and manager.

2^nd-year Internship: The Hospitality Field Experience

As a complement to the academic coursework in the first two years of study, this initial internship provides a paid, supervised work experience in the fields of lodging, foodservice, catering or resort operations. Students gain practical skills in a business environment and begin to view the workplace from a management perspective. During the course of the work experience, students keep a personal journal of critical incidents and compile a profile of the management systems and policies at their workplace. Afterwards, students participate in a discussion group to evaluate and compare their experiences.

Senior Internship: The Hospitality Management Apprenticeship

The Management Apprenticeship experience serves as an advanced internship and includes an on-site internship with a lodging, foodservice or full-service resort property, working closely with an individual manager/mentor at least 2 full days each week. Students select a specific area of management that they are interested in pursuing and are paired with an appropriate supervisor to observe and participate in his or her daily duties and challenges. This experience also includes a weekly online group discussion forum, where students at the various locations analyze the management practices in their organization and relate them to the ideas they have been exploring in their other classes.

Internship Sites

We are continually developing new internship opportunities for both of these field experiences, many chosen according to the specific interests of individual students. Our Career Services office provides a number of powerful resources, both for identifying attractive opportunities and for preparing a personal resume and completing the application and interview process. Students participate in a placement interview to determine the best fit for their own personal goals and abilities.

Here is a sampling of sites where our Hotel/Restaurant Management students have worked in the past:

Bolton Valley Resort
Bolton, Vermont

Wyndham Key West
Key West, Florida

Coronado Island Marriott
Coronado, California

Chateau Frontenac
Quebec City, Quebec

Sheraton-Burlington
Burlington, Vermont

Topnotch Resort
Stowe, Vermont

Disney World
Orlando, Florida

 The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel
Dixville Notch, New Hampshire

Hilton Hotel & Conference Center
Burlington, Vermont

Mountain Top Inn & Resort
Chittenden, Vermont

Doubletree Hotel & Suites
South Burlington, Vermont

Courtyard Marriott Burlington Harbor
Burlington, Vermont

Willard Street Inn: Historic Bed & Breakfast
Burlington, Vermont

Sunday River Resort
Bethel, Maine

The Shelburne House at Shelburne Farms
Shelburne, Vermont

Marriott Marquis Hotel
New York, New York

The Inn at Essex
Essex, Vermont

Grand Teton Lodge Company
Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Basin Harbor Club
Vergennes, Vermont

Smuggler's Notch Resort
Jeffersonville, Vermont

Trapp Family Lodge
Stowe, Vermont

Sagamore Hotel and Conference Center
Lake George, New York

Gaylord Opryland Hotel
Nashville, Tennessee

The Olive Garden Restaurant
South Burlington, Vermont

South Seas Plantation
Captiva Island, Florida