Days at the Museum

The first class of alumni who benefited from an innovative program helping College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate students land paid internships have now landed jobs. Athena Snyder ’18 was among the first students to receive a REAL Program internship. Hers was with the Triton Museum. She turned that experience into a career. “Through [the REAL Program], I was able to connect and make contacts and really build my network, so when I was applying to jobs … it got me in the door,” she says. Today the former art history and economics double major splits her work hours between the Triton and the San Jose Museum of Art. The REAL Program provides stipends of up to $5,000 for undergraduate opportunities lasting up to 10 weeks over the summer. In 2018, its first year, the program distributed $550,000 among more than 125 students.