Michael True is President of INTRUEITION, the parent company of InternQube.com. He most recently served as Senior Associate for Talent Development & Marketing in the Career & Professional Development Center at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He has been working in the field of internships for over 30 years. Mike has sought to provide resources to his colleagues, employers and students. In 1995, he began Internship-Net, an internet listserv now serving over 1,200 internship professionals throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. For employers he compiled a free booklet entitled "Starting and Maintaining A Quality Internship Program" which is currently being used by hundreds of colleges, universities, employers and chambers of commerce across the United States and internationally. And for students participating in internship and co-op experiences he wrote a book, InternQube: Professional Skills for the Workplace. In 2016 he released Faculty Manual: Academic Standards and Best Practices for Internships. "Higher Education & Experiential Learning: Select Trends and Future Ideas" was published in the 2018 book, International Internships: Mission, Methods & Models (a collection of papers from the Global Internship Conference). His most recent contribution is “The Future of Internships” published in 2020 by the Future Talent Council based in Stockholm, Sweden.
He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Business Week, Newsday, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, as well as other national and regional newspapers and magazines regarding internships. He has served as Chair of the Internship/Co-op Special Interest Group of the National Society for Experiential Education and is a certified trainer with the Cooperative Education and Internship Association.
For the last number of years the Messiah College Internship Program has been recognized by professional peers as offering one of the most comprehensive, well-run centers in the nation. Since 2001 over 500 colleges and universities have used materials of, and/or consulted with, the Internship staff to improve their own programs.
He is available for speaking and consulting, and he conducts surprisingly fun and interesting Professional Etiquette Dinners for college students and young professionals.
Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award - International Internship Conference (2023)
Ten Most Visionary and Forward Thinking Leaders in Career Services for 2014 and for 2013 - CSO Research Survey
Dean Herman Schneider Educator of the Year Award - 2012 CEIA
Donna Dentler Service Award - 2007 PennACE
Higher Education Leader of the Year Award - 2002 NSEE
Exemplary Leader Award - first recipient - 1998 NSEE
Conference Organizer and Host
Pennsylvania Drive-In for Internship Professionals (16 years)
Virtual/Remote Internship Webinar Presentations (April 2020)
Cooperative Education and Internship Association
Symplicity.com
VirtualInternships.com
Keynote Presentations
University of Mississippi's first-ever Experiential Learning Week (2023)
Texas A&M University-San Antonio "Future Summit" - one of four TED-Ed speakers (2021)
College Career Consortium of Illinois (2020)
Mountain and Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (2020)
National Society for Experiential Education (2019)
South Carolina Association of Colleges and Employers (2019)
Stetson University (2016)
University of South Carolina Internship Forum (2016)
U.S. Department of State - Latvian Employers (2014)
New England Association for Cooperative Education and Field Experience
Kansas State University's first-ever “Internship Summit” (2011)
Canadian Internship Association
Kansas Association of Colleges and Employers
Mid-West Cooperative Education and Internship Association
New Jersey Cooperative Education and Internship Association
Professional Etiquette Dinners
Hood College
Lebanon Valley College
Lehigh Carbon Community College
Messiah University
Moravian College
Mount St. Mary's University
Penn State - College of Medicine
Penn State - Hazleton
Penn State - Scranton
Penn State - Schuylkill Haven
Shippensburg University
Stetson University
Temple University
University of Wyoming
York College of Pennsylvania (first impressions/networking)
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Hamburg Area High School
Lebanon High School
Workshop Presenter
Connecticut Cooperative Education and Internship Association
Cooperative Education and Internship Association
Delaware Valley Career Planners
Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers
Global Internship Conference (Toronto 2014, Dublin 2015, Detroit 2018)
InternBridge (webinar)
National Society for Experiential Education
National Career Conference
New England Association for Cooperative Education and Field Experience
Penn State - University Park Career Professional Development Conference
Pennsylvania Drive-In for Internship Professionals
Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (2019 webinar)
Temple University
Board Leadership
Advisory Board Member - Virtual Internships (2019 - 2023)
Advisory Board Member - International Internship Network (2021 - )
Advisory Board Member - Global Experiences (2016-2019)
Advisory Board Member - CSO Research (2013-2015)
Board Member - Washington Internship Institute, Washington, DC (2009-2014; Chair - 2014)
Board Member - Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania (2002-2008); chaired Workforce Development Committee (2002-2004)