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Summer 2005 was another successful semester for Brigham Young
University-Idaho with 932 students fulfilling internships.
According to the Internship Office at BYU-Idaho, the top three
departments for internships included Business Management with
120 students, Construction Management with 102 students and
Biology with 90 students.
“It’s hard to determine the top cities interns went to this
summer with all the suburbs of big cities, but outside the
Intermountain West, I’d say New York, Washington D.C., Portland,
Ore., Phoenix, Seattle and Las Vegas had a majority of the
interns,” Kerrie Bailey, Internship Assistant, said.
Bret Mitchell, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, double majoring in
Accounting and Economics, had the opportunity to intern with
Proctor & Gamble in Fayetteville, Ark. According to its web
site, Proctor & Gamble, a Fortune 500 company, deals with
several trusted brands including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always,
Pantene, Bounty, Folgers, Pringles, Charmin, Downy, Crest,
Actonel, Olay and others.
“The internship went well,” Mitchell said. “BYU-Idaho helped
prepare me with opportunities through the Activities Program.”
When asked what advice he’d give to students who are preparing
for an internship, Mitchell said, “There are two elements.
First, do your very best right now. Avoid the easy classes and
teachers because the real world isn’t easy. Second, search out
and take on additional opportunities that strengthen who you
are. Do a little bit more then what’s expected.”
Another successful intern this summer was Travis Oldham, a
senior from Rexburg, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Oldham
interned with Southwest Gas Corporation in Las Vegas. Southwest
Gas Corporation is a natural gas company that serves customers
in Arizona, Nevada and California.
Oldham worked on a planning group with other engineers who were
estimating the future of natural gas lines. “With the rapid
growth in Nevada, Southwest Gas Corporation is planning ahead,”
Oldham said.
Oldham agrees that an internship gives students a better
understanding of what kind of options and directions there are
available in a career. He also felt very prepared through his
classes at BYU-Idaho. “Everything that I studied here gave me a
better understanding of how to do the internship,” he said.
Oldham advised students to, “start looking for an internship as
soon as you can,” he said. “Make yourself marketable, sell
yourself, network, talk to as many people as you can, that’s how
jobs open up.”
The BYU-Idaho Internship web page encourages students to do an
internship to “obtain practical and valuable work experience, to
apply skills and knowledge learned in school and to gain
exposure to various job opportunities.”
Former BYU-Idaho president David A. Bednar said, “Internships
now play a vital role in our academic programs. These
internships, especially when combined with integrated degrees,
will better prepare graduates to make worthwhile contributions
by giving them greater depth and breadth of understanding."
Students interested in obtaining more information about
internships should contact the Internship Office at 496.2290. |