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BUFFALO, N.Y. – A summer program led by the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ is providing paid professional work experience for dozens of college students from across Western New York and introducing them to a side of Buffalo that just might convince them to stay long after graduation.

The Western New York Sophomore Externship Experience at UB (SEE) matches students who have just completed their fourth semester at UB and other universities with some of the area’s top businesses and not-for-profits, where they work 20 hours a week, Monday through Thursday, during June and July.

But there’s also a pitch. On Fridays, the students get together to hear about Buffalo’s job opportunities, discover the city’s tech startups or visit all that the community has to offer — from Seneca One to Larkinville to Silo City.

One by one, Buffalo is winning over this young talent.

“Definitely,” says Andrew Charles, a UB computer engineering student from Queens who is working at ACV Auctions this summer.

“Even though I’ve been in Buffalo for two years, during the semester you’re sort of trapped inside a bubble,” says Charles. “But now that I’m coming downtown every day to go to work, I’m seeing different things I haven’t experienced my previous two years in Buffalo. It has definitely opened my eyes to staying and working here.”

ACV understands the importance that real-world experience has in developing a young career, which is why it chose to participate in the UB program, says Dan Buckmaster, senior manager of research and development for the online car auction for dealers.

“The value it provides to the externs by coupling programming and work experience is innovative,” Buckmaster says. “As a host site, we receive value by having new perspectives from a fresh set of eyes, which are critical in a research environment.”

The externship program is run by UB’s Startup and Innovation Collaboratory Powered by Blackstone LaunchPad — the CoLab, for short — with generous support from the Bryant Foundation this year and the Prentice Family Foundation in 2024.

It takes a team effort to recruit and retain future talent for the region and UB is grateful to the host sites for opening their doors to provide students with this transformative summer experience, says Hadar Borden, director of the UB CoLab.

“Saying you support talent development is one thing — doing it is another,” Borden says.

“The organizations that partnered with us went above and beyond to design unique, project-based opportunities for students to learn about their industries and make meaningful contributions,” she says. “It takes vision and leadership to embrace a new model that engages students earlier in their college careers and which expands companies’ reach to students who may be pursuing higher education outside the region.”

A new model

An externship differs from an internship in that it is typically for a shorter period, often involves working on a specific project and tends to occur earlier in a student’s college career, Borden says.

What’s also different about the Western New York Sophomore Externship Experience is that eligibility is not limited to sophomores at UB. Students who have completed their fourth semester at other Western New York colleges and universities also are eligible. So are sophomores attending college elsewhere, as long as they graduated from a high school in Western New York.

Savannah Penetrante, an Amherst native studying advertising at the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of South Carolina, is working in the marketing department at Shea’s Performing Arts Center this summer. The externship has confirmed to her that she is on the right career path — and that Buffalo could be a landing spot.

In fact, the experience has reintroduced her to a Buffalo she thought she knew. During the first week, the externs participated in a scavenger hunt to get acquainted with the city. Penetrante didn’t know any of the places.

“I never really knew how cool Buffalo was because I’m only here to go to dinner or go to a Sabres game — nothing really more than that,” Penetrante says.

For Jolie Brady, her summer experience working at DENT Neurologic Institute has been invaluable, as has the professional development the students are receiving from TechBuffalo and Explore Buffalo to help elevate their professionalism and confidence as they prepare to launch careers.

“We’re learning how to network or how to start conversations with people when you walk into a room — things like that you can’t really learn by sitting in class,” says Brady, a Clarence resident studying biomedical engineering abroad at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ College Dublin.

And for Abbeni Dixon, who is working in the laboratories at Kaleida Health this summer, the externship has not only renewed her appreciation for health care, but for the career opportunities in her hometown. Dixon is majoring in clinical laboratory science at Canisius ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½.

“In just these few weeks in the externship, not only do I feel it’s helping me grow professionally but it’s helping me to be more confident at the job I’m at now,” Dixon says.

Investing in the future

Now in its second year, the Western New York Sophomore Externship Experience has grown to 76 students, up from 50 last year. Borden is hoping to expand to 100 students next summer if more local companies are willing to host externs.

“As a Buffalo-based startup, we believe in creating opportunities for students to gain meaningful, hands-on experience and exposure to New York’s dynamic startup ecosystem,” says Shawn Walsh, director of operations at LenderLogix, a digital mortgage technology company.

“For LenderLogix,” Walsh says, “the program brings fresh perspectives and energy to our team, while allowing us to invest in the future workforce that will help strengthen both our company and the broader community.”

Similarly, the health care professionals at DENT have been fortunate to have strong mentorship throughout their careers and now they want to pay that forward to the next generation, says Shannon Senger, director of human resources at DENT.

“We have gained four highly intelligent, collaborative and curious externs who are helping us to look at the future of health care through a fresh lens and with unique perspectives,” Senger says. “Their dedication, feedback and ideas have been invaluable.”

And at Shea’s, it was an impromptu visit from last year’s inaugural class of externs that precipitated this summer’s involvement with the UB program, says Rita Sirianni, an executive assistant at Shea’s.

“The visit provided us with a firsthand look at the impactful experience that the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ cultivated for students," Sirianni says. “We hope that through their time at Shea’s our UB externs have discovered a deeper appreciation for Buffalo’s vibrant downtown, become champions for the arts, and gained skills and insights that will serve them as they enter the professional world.”