Big Badger Auction offers coveted Google internship

Wisconsin alumni and friends will have a chance to make a summer internship opportunity come true for a University of Wisconsin–Madison student by bidding on Google advertising internship that debuts today as part of the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Big Badger Auction.

The Big Badger Auction features a variety of one-of-a-kind finds including lunch with UW Football Coach Bret Bielema, a chance to conduct the Fifth Quarter at Camp Randall Stadium and a Steve Miller-signed guitar. Proceeds from the auction go to the Wisconsin Alumni Association.

Thanks to a partnership with Gilda’s Club Madison Wisconsin (GCMW), Google, the Wisconsin Alumni Association and UW–Madison, one student will have an opportunity of a lifetime – a paid eight-week summer internship at Google in advertising sales. The auction item offers a unique charitable opportunity as well as a chance to further a UW–Madison student’s educational portfolio. Proceeds from the internship auction item will go to GCMW, the local affiliate of the national cancer support network. Bidding for the Google internship starts at $8,000.

“Gilda’s Club is so excited to be able to offer the internship to a UW–Madison student,” says Cindy Alvarez, chair of the board of directors of GCMW, adding it’s only the second time that Google has provided an item such as this for charity auction. “When we were approached by Google, we thought about the generous alumni who are always giving back to this first-rate institution, and we thought it might be possible that someone out there would find this an attractive opportunity to support not only the charitable efforts of Gilda’s Club, but to further the educational goals for one of our students. Given that the WAA auction was taking place, we thought it was the most suitable and convenient way to reach out to alumni and friends.”

Google internship applicants must be currently enrolled in a recognized undergraduate school with an academic emphasis in business, marketing or journalism. Students must have a 3.0 GPA or better and must be completing their junior year. They should have a passion for the Internet and Google in particular.

The successful applicant will learn about search advertising and Google’s business by working with a field sales team in one of Google’s North American offices – preferably New York, Chicago, Mountain View, Irvine or Atlanta. Activities will include working with spreadsheets, contracts, customer service and marketing research. The opportunity could lead to future employment with Google, Alvarez says.

Qualified applicants should submit, by April 16, a resume and a cover letter explaining what an internship of this nature would mean to their educational goals to: Deb Lauder, 161 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706. A scholarship committee will select a student by May 1.

The Wisconsin Alumni Association is an independently financed, nonprofit organization that has been connecting UW alumni to their alma mater and each other since 1861. WAA offers a wide variety of services, including the award-winning On Wisconsin magazine, career networks, international travel opportunities and student programs.