Some Southern University students decided to spend their free time this summer more wisely by working as interns across the nation, taking a productive step towards securing full-time employment after graduation.
Recovery efforts in the state, post Hurricane Katrina, provided numerous opportunities for students in the university’s engineering program.
“More engineering students are going out because of the New Orleans rebuilding program,” said Julie Wessinger, associate director of career services.
Daniel Pratt, a senior electrical engineering major from Baton Rouge, worked at Entergy Nuclear South in St. Francisville, La. While at Entergy, Pratt worked on the maintenance history of circuit breakers and motor operating valves.
“An internship allows you to see how what you are learning is (actually) applied,” Pratt said.
Aaron Davis, a senior mechanical engineering major from Baton Rouge, said doing an internship helped him to learn more as well. He also said it allowed him to see the importance of the subject matter taught in his mechanical courses.
Davis interned with Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas. At Bell Helicopter, Davis worked closely with other engineers in product research and development.
Wessinger said the opportunities students like Davis and Pratt received by working as summer interns will give them a leg up among students they’ll be competing against in the job market after they graduate.
Al Barron, director of career services, agrees.
“An internship is a great experience to get while in school because it makes the student more marketable against others,” Barron said.
Anthony Williams, a senior marketing major from Baton Rouge, interned at 3M in Tampa, Fla. as a sales representative in the construction and home improvement division.
He said, “An internship is critical to your success in job hunting for post graduate experience.”
While at 3M, Williams said he was responsible for contacting businesses within a nine hour territory. Those contacts in return helped to recruit new business and establish valuable long-term relationships between distributors.
Williams said he was also given assignments similar to those given to full time representatives with the company.
According to Barron, more juniors intern during the summer because they have gained an adequate amount of classroom knowledge and they are closer to graduation.
“Get as much work experience as possible,” said Toussaint Pierre, a junior accounting major from Baton Rouge. “An internship will also give exposure to things that will assist in networking.”
While working at the Federal Highway Administration in Tallahassee, Fla., Pierre participated in an electronic filling project and presented on financial management.
Pierre said it is also important to have people skills, and it helps to know a foreign language.
“A lot of people that I met this summer spoke Spanish,” he said.
Keylonda Armwood, a senior urban forestry major from Baton Rouge, interned in Pride, La. with the USDA Forest Service at the Hoosier National Forest.
At Hoosier, Armwood worked as a GIS trainee, assisted in forestry projects and made maps for newly developed forests.
Armwood said her internship was a major adjustment because she didn’t know anyone.
According to Barron, in order for a student to successfully obtain an internship they must be persistent, research their field, ask questions and attend the career fairs held every semester.
The Office of Career Services is an outlet for students and can provide students with the resources necessary to obtain that summer internship.