Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Internships allow Southeast students to learn outside of the classroom

Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Ethan Hochstein interned for Union Pacific Corp. last summer in Omaha, Nebraska. Submitted photo

A student can only learn so much in a classroom setting according to agriculture professor Dr. David Mauk.

"You can teach from a classroom perspective every day of the week, but until you really get out into the field and experience some things and learn from those experiences, [an internship] bolsters what it is that we do in the classroom," Mauk said.

Internships not only give students real-world job experience, but they also beef up students' resumes, helping them land a job after graduation.

Mauk said one internship is good, but students who participate in multiple internships throughout their college years are more marketable to potential employers.

"It is all about marketability," Mauk said. "Marketing yourself as a trustworthy employee, and that is what internships do."

A large number of internships are done over summer break, and Mauk said most of those positions are filled up before December. However, this spring he has seen a lot of internship opportunities cropping up for the summer.

Large companies tend to offer the most internships, and Mauk said even if a student wants to open a small business after graduation and has no desire to work for a large company, he or she should still apply for and complete as many internships as possible.

"Any experience can be considered good experience," Mauk said. "Even if it is not a good experience that you have, you're learning. If an individual wants to open their own shop, they can approach [small businesses] and see if they can set up an internship."

Mauk said students can find internship positions on company websites as well as job search sites such as Indeed.com.

Students can also attend career fairs and conferences to find internships, just like junior horticulture major Ethan Hochstein did to land an internship with Union Pacific Corp. last summer at the company's headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska.

"It was kind of by chance," Hochstein said. "I went to a conference in Kansas City called Agriculture Futures of America. While there, they had a career fair. I happened to stop by their booth, kind of got to chatting with them, and then ended up having lunch with them, and things kind of went from there. They flew me out for an interview, I interviewed, and they offered me an internship."

Hochstein said even though he wants to work in food production after college, working for UP taught him lots of things he can use later in life.

Hochstein was assigned to the agri-business division of UP, and his main job was to help figure out how to ship bio-diesel more efficiently. He added that most of the job was at the desk doing market research and speaking with clients and government agencies on the phone, which taught him a lot, but the real experience that carried over came from being around such a large corporation.

"I learned the importance of systems and organization," Hochstein said. "They have a system for everything, a protocol, which was frustrating at times, but it definitely taught me the importance of being organized, because there's no way to run a system that big without being organized."

Hochstein said the process for finding an internship is similar to searching for the right college.

"Even if you're not interested, there is value in talking to many different [employers] about internships," Hochstein said. "I was not interested in UP when I started, but after talking with them, you learn it is similar to a college search. The more you look at different colleges, the more you know which internship would be good or bad."

Hochstein added that being involved in clubs on campus can help a person land an internship, and added that UP was impressed with his level of involvement in clubs.

Not only do internships benefit college students, Mauk said internships help companies find the right employees.

Mauk said many interns are offered full-time jobs by companies they intern with after the experience is over.

He added that students should look for internships outside of their comfort zone because that allows them to gain a more diverse set of skills making them a better hire for employers.

"I'm always saying [to students], 'Get out there and learn something that you do not know,'" Mauk said. "Because if you learn something you do not know, that makes you more marketable."

Comments