Sample of 1... we hire interns across our organization every summer. HR, marketing, engineering, etc. And across our locations (US, India, Mexico). We make full-time offers to a decent number of them (not a majority, but more than a few).
And as a manager, I'd absolutely lean towards a recent graduate with some experience over no experience. My "success rate" for grads who have co-op experience (full-time job, often delays graduation by a semester or year) is the highest. Next would be those that had long-term part-time employment (university IT office, etc). Then basic internships. And last, no experience at all - and the "success rate" on them has been low enough I probably wouldn't chance hiring another one.