A partnership between Finger Lakes Community College and the Sands Family YMCA is helping students gain hands-on experience while creating a pipeline for future employees.
The YMCA hosted 10 FLCC interns over the course of the academic year, including eight students during the spring semester alone. The interns worked across several departments, including sports, aquatics, health and wellness, innovation, and active older adult programming, giving them practical experience outside the classroom.
Kate Eberts, associate executive director of the Sands Family Branch YMCA and an FLCC alumna, said the experience benefited both the students and the organization.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Eberts said. “Our students did a fantastic job, and it was just very exciting all around.”
Interns took on a variety of responsibilities, including planning sports curriculum, leading youth activities, assisting with aquatics deck management, organizing programs for older adults, and participating in community events such as flag football and an autism awareness fair.
The partnership also led directly to employment opportunities.
“We actually had the opportunity to hire a few of them after they finished their internship, so it assists us in the end as well,” Eberts said.
Eberts said internships help students determine whether a career path is the right fit before they graduate — something she experienced herself as an FLCC student.
“With my experience at FLCC, I had the opportunity to work at the YMCA as well, so it gave me an enlightenment on what I wanted to do,” she said. “I actually changed my career because I enjoyed working with children. FLCC helped guide me in the way that I wanted to go.”
Lenore Friend, FLCC’s director of public relations and communications and editor of The Laker magazine, said applied learning experiences such as internships, paid co-ops, clinical placements, and field studies help students explore careers before entering the workforce.
Friend said applied learning is required in about 30 of the college’s degree programs because the college wants students to graduate with a clear understanding of their next steps.
To support students completing unpaid internships, FLCC uses a SUNY-funded program that provides a $695 stipend upon successful completion, along with gas cards to help offset transportation costs.
The Sands Family YMCA was featured in the spring 2026 issue of The Laker magazine for its commitment to hosting FLCC interns. According to Friend, hiring interns after graduation is a common outcome of the college’s applied learning programs.
“That happens fairly often, and that is exactly one of the things we want to come out of this,” she said.
