Internships help CSC students gain valuable experience

Thus, last spring Enright searched the internet for interior designers in Oceanside, Calif., and came up with about a dozen of them. One of her contacts was with Jeannette Yearley, who operates JY Design out of her home.

“She said I could come out and work with her, so I did that,” said Enright, a native of Pinedale, Wyo. “We had a great time together and I had an awesome experience. I learned so much and got to do so many neat things.”

Primarily, Yearley and Enright served as the “shoppers” for couples who were building ritzy homes in southern California. “We’d meet with them and they’d tell us what they wanted. We’d also make suggestions and discuss the possibilities. Then we went shopping for them in Los Angeles, San Diego and even into Mexico. We also went to a huge trade show in LA that filled an 11-story buildings with about everything imaginable.

“Sometimes we shopped for a specific room such as the kitchen or the living room and other times it would be for the whole house. I found out that this is the kind of work I want to do after I graduate.”

Enright was one of 95 CSC students who had internships this past summer. The program gives them the opportunity to gain experience relating to their major while also earning college credit. Most of them say it is extremely beneficial as they put their college training to work under the supervision of someone who is making a living in the field.

Besides family and consumer science, the psychology, legal studies and health, physical education and recreation departments require that their majors earn internship credit before they graduate. Many business majors also hold internships. Most of the other programs encourage it.

Often, the internship leads to employment with the firm or agency the students work for, according to Deena Kennell and Deb Meter, who are the director and coordinator of the program, respectively.

“It gives both the employer and the student a chance to get to know one another before they make any long-term agreements,” Kennell noted. “Most of the students tell us they learn a lot and many of the employers say the students gave them and their business or agency new energy and fresh ideas. It often works out really well for both of them.”

At CSC, up to 18 hours of internship credit may be applied toward a degree. The students must work 50 hours for each hour of credit they earn, and objectives have to be established for each hour of credit. “The work experience must be worthy of credit,” Meter noted.

Although Enright was not paid and said that really wasn’t important because of the unique experiences she gained, most interns receive at least minimum wage. Most of the students don’t venture as far away from home or the campus as Enright did, but CSC students had internships in seven states this summer.

Business major Lindsay Erwin of Lincoln had an internship with the Lincoln Saltdogs, a pro baseball team in Lincoln.

“I did a little bit of everything,” Erwin said. “I worked in the ticket booth, I sold souvenirs, I helped with guest relations and stadium operations during the games and helped “Homer,” the big dog that is the mascot at the games. Some weeks when the team was at home, I wound up working 80 hours a week, but I didn’t care because it was fun.”

With Erwin’s assistance, a CSC alumni gathering was arranged at one of the games. About 40 people who live in the Lincoln area and have CSC ties participated.

Brian Shafer, a senior theater major from Ord, was also in the entertainment business. He earned nine hours of credit while working at the 2nd Wind Ranch that puts on the popular windmill festivals at Comstock. He said at least 14,000 people flocked to the ranch this summer for concerts involving country and western, rock and gospel music.

Like Erwin, Schafer said his duties varied. “I helped build a stage, I painted the windmills and the 104-year-old Dempster house that is at the ranch. I did some promotional work and I made runs to buy more food and ice when we ran out. I kept busy, that’s for sure.”

Another CSC business major found there’s lots of variety in today’s banking. Senior Travis Covey of Alliance worked at the Security First Bank in Hay Springs. “I was a part-time teller, I worked in investments, I saw how loans were processed and particularly after the hail storm in late July I learned a lot about insurance,” said Covey. “I tried to learn as much as I could. I probably learned the most about ag lending because I don’t have a farm background and a lot of their loans are to ag producers. It was an interesting experience. I found I definitely want to pursue a career in banking.”

A member of the CSC football team, Covey is continuing to work at the bank Monday afternoons, when the Eagles don’t have practice.

Another business major, Mark Buchmeier, who worked for an insurance agency in his hometown of Bayard, said he determined he’s not cut out for that line of work. “I got along great with my boss and learned a lot about the insurance business that I am sure will benefit me the rest of my life. But I discovered I don’t want to sit behind a desk in an office for eight hours a day. I think I’ll try something like real estate where I can move around more.”

Still another business major definitely got out and about during his internship with the Easter Seals of South Dakota this past summer. Matt Reed primarily sold raffle tickets on a 2004 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic motorcycle, raising thousands of dollars in the process. Some of the promotional work was in conjunction with a Rapid City radio station that co-sponsored the raffle while he also lined up volunteers to help sell the tickets at the Heritage Festival in Rapid City and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Some $20,000 worth of tickets were sold at the latter event. In addition, he persuaded a Rapid City automobile dealer to donate a 1993 Pontiac Sunbird that was auctioned off for $1,100.

Two CSC students who had previously leaned toward print journalism tested the waters in the electronic media during the summer. Britney Fleck worked for a Bismarck, N.D., radio station while Erika Pritchard worked at KCSR radio in Chadron.

Fleck, whose home is on a ranch about 30 miles south of Bismarck, said she shadowed nearly everyone at the station. Thus she conducted interviews for remote broadcasts, assisted with fund-raisers and worked with the station’s web site.

“It was really interesting. I might go into broadcast journalism now,” said Fleck.

Pritchard said she also enjoyed her experience as she assisted KCSR News Director Chris Fankhauser.

“I enjoyed being on the air, although you have to be careful what you say and still you can’t be tongue-tied. You have to keep talking and say something worthwhile even when you don’t have a script,” Pritchard said.

The Pleasanton, Neb., native said she was planning to seek a newspaper job prior to her radio experience, but likes the fact that she now has another option.

Trish Hinzman of Wall, S.D., said she had a good time working for the U.S.Forest Service at the San Juan National Forest in the Four-Corners area of southwestern Colorado. She primarily worked in human resources, spending much of her time at a computer processing personnel records and benefits needs. She had previously worked in other capacities for the forest service and said she is set to become a full-time employee after she graduates this spring.

A CSC science major started something during his internship that he hopes to finish next summer.

Travis Gilchriest, a senior from Fort Laramie, Wyo., worked for the Goshen County Weed and Pest Control based in Torrington. His primary duties were to survey for mosquito larvae and adults as part of a statewide West Nile Fever study. He collected samples from bodies of water in the county to establish baseline data to be used in the future.

“We were trying to determine the breeding hotspots for Culex mosquitoes that are the primary vectors for West Nile,” said Gilchriest. “We were also trying to determine the species diversity of the mosquito population in the county. This has never been done before. I hope to go back next year and do more with this project..”

Gilchriest said the internship fit in well with his biology major, and allowed him to meet some prominent scientific researchers from the Universities of Wyoming and California. He’s now expanding on the data he collected this summer as the topic for his biology seminar presentation at the end of the fall semester.

He surprised the personnel at the CSC Internship Office by sending them a packet of mosquitoes along with the written report on his activities.