Howdy! My name is Natalie and I am currently an undergraduate Architecture student. I have been really struggling trying to find an architecture internship for this fall. I have to obtain one this fall or I wont be able to advance in my program. I have called and emailed over 70 firms, both large and small, in the Houston area, in Texas, and even out of state. All the connections I have made at various Career Fairs at A&M have fallen through as they were mostly interested in graduate students. I am still applying to new job postings via LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!

Howdy Natalie

I understand your situation. My daughter (Class of '14) was in the VIZ program through the School of Architecture and faced the exact same challenge. She was getting a few nibbles in far-flung places, but most were far from ideal especially with the added hurdle that the internship had to be paid, so working for free just wasn't an option.

Here's what we ended up doing: We partnered with a friend of ours who was the executive director of a Houston-based nonprofit. They officially hired my daughter at minimum wage to do graphics work and help upgrade their website. I made a personal donation to the organization to offset the cost of her pay. It was all above board, and it gave her the internship credit she needed.

Now, I'm not sure this kind of workaround would work with a for-profit firm, or whether you could even find a nonprofit that might need architectural services but it's something to consider. You might look into local community development groups, housing nonprofits, or even historic preservation organizations.

Best of luck to you.