With $150,000 in support, Our Lady of the Lake University is connecting coursework, career preparation and employer engagement while preparing to launch internship stipends in spring 2027.
For college students preparing to enter the workforce, an internship can provide valuable experience, professional contacts and a clearer understanding of a potential career. But when that opportunity is unpaid, accepting it can mean sacrificing income needed for everyday expenses.
At Our Lady of the Lake University, that calculation is helping shape a broader approach to career preparation—one that connects what students learn in class with the experience, skills and relationships they need after graduation.
Supported by a $150,000 investment from H-E-B, OLLU’s Workforce Readiness Initiative brings together career education, employer engagement, internship support and faculty development. Now in its first semester of full implementation following a spring 2026 pilot, the initiative is designed to make preparation for professional life part of the academic experience from the beginning.
Its foundation is an organizational change with a practical purpose: OLLU moved Career Services into Academic Affairs, bringing career preparation closer to faculty, coursework and academic planning.
“Our strongest accomplishment is structural,” said Dr. Teresita Munguia, OLLU associate provost, who oversees Career Services. “Career Services now lives in Academic Affairs, so career readiness is part of how OLLU teaches, not something extra.”
Bringing career preparation into the classroom
The initiative addresses a familiar challenge: reaching students before graduation and the job search becomes urgent.
At OLLU, career modules are built into INDS 1311, Applications of Learning, giving students an introduction to career preparation through a course they already take. During the spring 2026 pilot, 174 students completed those modules. Another 20 students in ENGL 1314, Business English, developed résumés and cover letters, participated in mock interviews and worked on their personal brands as part of their coursework.
That connection continued this fall. Career Services delivered 10 workshops with 221 recorded participations; eight workshops took place within faculty members’ classes. Faculty teaching biology, history and management courses scheduled sessions, while Criminal Justice, Social Work and Psychology faculty collaborated on departmental career programming.
The workshops address practical steps in preparing for employment, including résumé and curriculum vitae development, interviewing, professional headshots, workplace attire and using Handshake, the university’s career platform.
By incorporating these experiences into classes, OLLU can reach students who might otherwise postpone career planning or have difficulty fitting a separate workshop into their schedules. Faculty also help connect students with opportunities beyond the classroom: among 84 respondents to a question about how they learned of the fall career fair, 34 identified a professor—more than any other source.
Helping students afford professional experience
The next major step is the launch of H-E-B-funded internship stipends in spring 2027. OLLU has designated $80,000 of the investment for students participating in unpaid internships. Awards will range from $200 for the shortest micro-internships to a maximum of $800 for a semester-long experience.
“The biggest barrier is money,” Munguia said. “Sixty-two percent of our students are Pell-eligible, and an unpaid internship often means giving up a paying job. That’s why our stipends go only to students in unpaid internships.”
The support will cover two categories: micro-internships lasting three weeks or less and internships lasting four weeks through a full semester. Students will secure opportunities independently or with assistance from their academic departments, then apply for financial support. Students may reapply, with priority given to first-time recipients.
The internship budget is designed to support at least 100 students over the award period, from spring 2027 through spring 2028. Shorter experiences funded at lower amounts could allow the university to support additional recipients.
Priority fields include retail management, supply chain, business, healthcare, STEM and K–12 education. Students receiving support will document their hours, responsibilities, work locations and any related coursework, helping OLLU understand the experiences the funding makes possible.
The new stipends build on earlier work supported by other funding sources. Ten students received paid internships funded through a federal Title V grant from spring through fall 2026. Those opportunities preceded the H-E-B-funded stipend program.
Building professional connections
Financial support is one part of the initiative. Access to professional networks is another.
University-wide, 49% of OLLU students are first-generation college students. Munguia sees employer engagement as an opportunity to help students develop connections that can inform their career decisions and introduce them to people working in their fields.
The Oct. 21 career fair drew 184 students and 40 representatives from 17 employers. Student attendance increased 22% from the fall 2025 fair. Participating employers included Security Service Federal Credit Union, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, Goodwill Industries of San Antonio, The Center for Health Care Services, school districts, Communities In Schools of San Antonio, the San Antonio Police Department and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Students represented a range of academic interests. Criminal Justice, Psychology and Business Administration were the largest groups, with participation also spanning Biology, Kinesiology, Finance, Social Work and Communication Disorders.
Smaller experiences offer another route to connection. In April, 11 students attended a networking event at the San Antonio Water System’s H2Oaks facility, supported by National Science Foundation funding. That visit has become a model for future industry-specific experiences.
Other upcoming events include:
• Nov. 4: First Gen Fest
• Nov. 5: a Social Work event, with a Career Services table
• Nov. 6: an externship visit at Security Service Federal Credit Union, for 4 to 6 students
• Nov. 11: Clear for Takeoff, a workshop on finding internships and jobs
• Nov. 16: a Criminal Justice career event
• Nov. 19: a Career Services table at the McNair Symposium
• Dec. 2: Words that Fly, a letter-writing workshop
• Date to come: a networking session at the Mini 3MT (Three Minute Thesis)
OLLU is also working to schedule H-E-B career pathways sessions focused on retail management, supply chain and business. Those sessions remain in development.
Connecting faculty with current industry practices
H-E-B’s investment also supports a faculty component designed to carry workforce knowledge back into the classroom.
With H-E-B’s approval, OLLU revised its original faculty mentoring proposal to create summer faculty externships. Through those experiences, faculty will spend time in industry settings and use what they learn to inform courses and assignments.
The first externships are planned for summer 2027.
The approach extends the initiative’s potential reach: an experience that helps a faculty member better understand current workplace practices can inform learning opportunities for students in subsequent semesters.
Building beyond the initial investment
As implementation continues, OLLU plans to broaden private-sector employer participation, particularly in retail, supply chain, business and STEM, and engage more juniors and seniors approaching the job market.
The university is also discussing potential partnerships with San Antonio Ready to Work and Greater SATX.
Several foundational elements are intended to continue beyond the initial funding: Career Services’ place within Academic Affairs, career modules embedded in coursework and faculty development that can influence future teaching.
Together, those elements reflect an approach to workforce readiness that begins well before the final semester. Students can practice presenting their skills, meet professionals, explore workplaces, and connect academic interests with career possibilities throughout their education.
Tracking participation—and the outcomes that follow
Early activity shows the initiative is reaching students through multiple avenues.
The university is refining its tracking to measure individual participation, career skills and progress toward the initiative’s goal of 85% of participants employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.
“Job offers, employment in a student’s major and graduate school enrollment are the results that matter most, and we can’t report them yet,” Munguia said.
For students seeking to participate, Career Services is located in Moye Hall, Room 013, on the garden level, and can be reached at career@ollusa.edu. Matthew Hernandez, STEM internship coordinator and career advisor, is a first point of contact. Events are posted on Handshake, and application details for the H-E-B-funded internship stipends will be announced when the program opens in spring 2027.