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���챬�� students seeking summer experiential learning, such as internships, research or independent projects, can now connect with a transformed, holistic educational program. The Mount Holyoke Career Development Center (CDC) has reimagined and reorganized the Lynk experience into an integral summer planning initiative.

“It is a comprehensive career development program essential for every Mount Holyoke student,” said Jenny Watermill, director of experience and exploration at the College.

She continued, “This is how the College supports you in getting summer opportunities. We’ll support you the whole way through and help you connect the dots to your Mount Holyoke experience.”

Ideally, students should begin this experience in their sophomore year. They need to identify their career goals and find and secure opportunities that match them. The curriculum has been updated to provide more in-depth and supportive guidance, especially for students who have not previously engaged in a job search.

Students are still eligible for College funding if the summer experience is unpaid or unfunded. The standard Lynk award for internship funding is $4,000 for remote projects and those based in the United States and $4,600 for projects outside the U.S., with additional cost-of-living and travel adjustments as needed.

As part of the program, students must attend a career event or complete an alum interview to connect with alums or employers. “As part of last year’s revised Sophomore Institute, students were paired with alums and did informational interviews with alums. That became a new part of The Lynk,” said Kristin Balboni, associate director of communications and metrics. Students can also connect with peer mentors who have been through The Lynk program and can offer advice and guidance.

Once they have completed a summer experience, students reflect on the experience and present their findings. Nexus students must take Reflecting Back: Connecting Internship and Research to Your Liberal Arts Education and present at the LEAP Symposium. Other Mount Holyoke students may also take Reflecting Back and present at LEAP, or, alternatively, can complete an independent study or a capstone class and present at the Senior Symposium, a departmental internship presentation or an approved, independently identified presentation opportunity.

“Our job, as the Experience & Exploration team in the CDC, is to foundationally prepare students for their careers. So, we provide the early career education and early experiential learning opportunities that then launch someone … to actually enter a specific market as juniors and seniors,” Watermill said.

Step 1 of the is now open for students preparing for 2026.