Swarthmore Future Entrepreneurship Program (SFEP)

2021 Employer Application Deadline: Jan 22; Student Application Period: Feb 8-26

About SFEP:

Curated internships at Philadelphia-based start-up companies. Students (seniors and alumni are ineligible) can apply to posted internships and interview with participating organizations. If selected, students will gain experience working for a start up while gaining insight into the entrepreneurial world while receiving a $4800 stipend for 10 weeks of full-time work through the College.

SFEP Student Info sessions: powerpoint presentation

"Virtual" Student Info Session: Feb 19, 2021 at 3pm EST. See Handshake for details.

LIST OF EMPLOYERS & POSITIONS (2020). 2021 will be available on Feb 8 on Handshake or this page--see below for application instructions. Please refer to the 2020 list to understand the types of positions and employers offered. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read student testimonials.

Student Application Period: Feb 8-26, 2021

Student Application Instructions:

Please follow these directions to make sure that you're able to view all SFEP internships and apply to the ones you're interested in.

1. Log into Handshake.

2. On the top of the home screen, click on "Jobs."

3. In the search bar, type in "SFEP" and hit enter for a list of all internships that are a part of this program. All SFEP internships will have the title labeled "SFEP: ________" A full list of opportunities is also available as a PDF; you can also type in the employer name and search for the internship that way.

4. Apply to as many opportunities that are of interest to you. Please note that some employers ask for more than a resume. If you haven't had your application materials reviewed, please come and see a Career Peer Advisor (M-F 1-4:30pm).

5. Please make sure you understand the organization’s location. Their address will be in the description or in the employer profile--not all employers are located within the city of Philadelphia and some are located in suburban neighborhoods. If chosen for interviews, students are required to make their own arrangements in getting to the interview locations.

Study Abroad Applicants:

Those studying abroad are eligible to apply; however, it is important to let your interviewers know that you are studying abroad and might not be able to do an in-person interview. Please be flexible when scheduling interviews.

Note about funding:

$4800 is the maximum amount that a student may be awarded for summer funding. Should you accept an SFEP internship, you are not allowed to apply for additional funding for this program through the College.

Note to International Students:

Students are required to contact the Office of International Student Services (Jennifer Marks-Gold) on their options regarding work authorization status.

Questions:

Career Services (pkim1@swarthmore.edu)

Hear from some of your Swarthmore peers about their SFEP experiences below!

My experience at Lithero is one that I will surely treasure for the rest of my career. I was able to learn quickly, adapt to a new environment, be a part of a business setting, and implement my own code into the company’s pipeline. It is thanks to this internship that I find myself interested and targeting Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence opportunities as I am now aspiring to be a Data Scientist.

I am extremely grateful that I had the chance to learn under a Swarthmore graduate within an intimate corporate setting in which my learning experience was maximized. Conveniently enough, the CEO of my startup had a successful career with various investment banks and was therefore able to offer me precious career advice (and connections) during our exit meeting that will aid me moving forward.

I believe I have grown a tremendous amount as an eager student, young adult emerging in the tech career, and an independent women...I’ve learned a lot of valuable skill sets such as communicating in the real world, time management, and organization. I am confident that my education at Swarthmore will only help me grow more.

I learned personally from the CEO’s on how to manage and grow a small business, something in which I have always had interest in. I worked with almost everyone in the company at some point or another, and even led a company-wide meeting on the fourth week. Throughout this experience, I’ve grown to know I thrive in an environment where creativity is held up as a priority, especially in marketing. In the future, I hope to continue to help create projects like the ones I did during this internship and continue my journey in my professional career.

I got to dive deeper into customer success work, from interacting with parents and clients, to working with data about how engaged our customers are, and much more. Being able to do this sort of work gave me a lot of knowledge about the busy and high-energy process of being at a small company. I was able to see the sales side, the technical side, and customer side in action, as well as watching the process of working with individual customers: from cold emailing, to finally sealing the deal, to officially launching our product for the client. I felt that I saw all sides of the start-up at work, and was able to see the personal impact of the work I was doing, which was particularly rewarding.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work for such an amazing company and I have truly learned so much about the higher education industry as well as sales in general. Working at startups for the past two consecutive years has made me realize how much I enjoy the startup environment due to the many opportunities that exist for individuals to wear many hats and gain exposure to things they aren't necessarily qualified for.

Working at Neuroflow has been a transformative experience, to say the least. Skill-wise, I've grown from a programmer who only knew a single "stack" of technologies to one who is able to learn and develop with new tech on the fly, from someone who had to be taught to one who can now be relied upon...Regarding myself, I've discovered two important qualities I hadn't been aware of: my passion for working in projects that offer tangible, positive social impact, and my desire to at some point create a venture of my own. These I hope to actualize in my future.

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