Melanie Vail

Internship Year: 1996
Then: Public Relations Intern at General Motors Canada
Now: Executive Assistant/HR Coordinator at Anderson DDB

“If I were to describe my internship in one word, it would be ‘life-changing’. When I graduated, I couldn’t find a job. I applied to hundreds of positions, and all I heard was crickets. When I received the call from the Durham College Career Centre about the Career Edge opportunity at General Motors, I leapt at the chance to work for a Fortune 500 company. My internship led to my relationship with the people at the United Way, which led to my first job after completing my internship. Having both of those positions on my resume, helped me get my foot in the door for all of the subsequent positions I have held. Without my internship, who knows how long I would have been searching… What makes the Career Edge internship unique, is it usually comes at a time when a recent graduate has spent countless hours applying to jobs, and never getting an interview. It gives hope, experience, and skill to recent grads who are looking for their first step into the working world. I will always be grateful for my Career Edge internship, and the opportunities it afforded me.”