Internships: That Extra Push

Internships. This word can bring many emotions:  excitement, uncertainness, and anxiety. 

With today’s job market becoming more and more competitive, having an internship on your resume can give you the extra push you may need to land that dream job.  Some people also get the benefit of working for the company they interned with. The best way to start looking for internships is to attend a career fair, just like the one coming up this month at Good Barn. (Note: The UK Ag Career Fair will be held on Tuesday, October 23 from 12 Noon- 4 PM at the E.S. Good Barn.)  Companies come prepared to look for possible interns when they visit college campuses and the representatives are great sources of information. Not only can they tell you about the company, but they can also tell you how they themselves got their current jobs. 

The next place to look is your inbox. The Office of Academic Programs and Advising Resource Center send out numerous emails about companies looking for interns, extension opportunities, and job openings. The UK Career Center also sends out notices.  Some days, I see these emails and they head straight for the trash! (Which I’m sure most of us have been guilty of doing) So, on my search for internships for this upcoming summer, I have been paying more attention to my inbox. Want to get a lot of different intern options? Your advisor and professors are another great resource! They have made connections not only while they were job searching, but also while they have been working for the University! 

Now that you have all of these different intern options, it is time to narrow your search. My personal goal is to have my top internships picked out by Thanksgiving and I will apply to them by Christmas, but you can apply all throughout the spring semester too! Just make sure you know the deadlines to your top picks.  

 I have a few main things I look for while searching for internships. This first is the job type. I would love to do public relations or marketing for an agriculture company. I really enjoy working with people and would love the opportunity to work with producers across the state or country. The second thing I look for is location. I would like to either work for a company within the state of Kentucky or work out West. Getting to explore the area and learn about the people would be half the fun! What company I will be working for is another selling point. I would like to work for John Deere, Monsanto, or Syngenta, but my options are always open. Lastly, I look at whether or not it is paid. Yes, this is point some students forget until they have already gone through the application process. If you are looking for your internship to also be your summer job, make sure you read the fine print. 

Remember to breathe and don’t forget that everyone in the College of Agriculture is here to help you on your search to find an internship you will love! 

 Kellie is studying Agricultural Economics.  She is from Hodgensville, KY.  She is involved in UK Ag Student Council, Agribusiness Club, and is an Ag Ambassador.   

Behind the Scenes of the UK Ag Advising Resource Center

Last week, I was in my office when a student comes in needing assistance completing some paperwork.  While I was completing the paperwork, we were making small talk about her summer plans.  During the conversation, she asks if those of us in the Advising Resource Center are here all summer to which I responded “yes.”  Then she questions, “So what do you do all summer?” ,or as I heard it, “What could you possibly have to do during the summer?  After all, no students are around.”   

This is a common question I get from students and it makes me chuckle every time.  My initial reaction is to say “we just sit around with our feet on the desk, eating bonbons and reading magazines.”  Thankfully, I catch myself (most of the time) and respond with a vague description of what we do.  In reality, we stay pretty busy over the summer.  Granted, we don’t have as much student traffic as when classes are in session but we have many other tasks to keep us busy.  So, for those who have always wondered, here is a little insight into what we do during the summer in the Advising Resource Center.

After the spring semester finishes, we spend the next few weeks wrapping up the semester by reviewing and processing A LOT of student records.   Our office is responsible for verifying that students have completed their degree requirements as well as reviewing students’ academic standing.  So, at the end of each semester, the record of every student who has applied for a degree is evaluated and verified to make sure degree requirements have been completed and the records of students whose academic standing has changed are reviewed and processed.  Additionally, we have new student registration for both summer sessions, which occurs on the Monday after graduation in May and during the first week of June.    

By the second week of June, we are in full planning mode for the summer advising conferences which run from the third week of June through the second week of July.  The summer advising conferences consist of twelve freshmen, three transfer, and two readmission conferences.  The summer advising conferences provide students the opportunity to meet faculty and staff, register for classes, get any questions answered about UK and college life, and start to learn their way around campus.  Freshmen attend two-day conferences while transfer and readmission students attend one day conferences.   On day one for freshmen, students are on main campus participating in various presentations and interest sessions.  Students receive information on residence life, housing, dining, parking, financial aid, student employment, Greek life, and much more.  On day two, students meet with representatives from their academic college for advising and registration.  During this time, advisors work closely with students to help them prepare a schedule of classes and ensure that they are taking the appropriate courses.  While the students are with the academic colleges, parents are participating in a parent program which highlights topics of interest for them.  After students complete the registration process, they meet back up with their parents for the conclusion of the conference.  Over the course of four weeks, we will work with approximately 400 new students!

Once the summer advising conferences are completed, we spend the next few weeks wrapping up the summer sessions, which includes processing more student records, and preparing for the fall semester.  We also begin work on creating the schedule of classes for the upcoming spring semester.  Our student traffic increases during this time as our new students have questions and concerns in addition to our returning students.   

So, as I mentioned previously, we have plenty to keep us busy over the summer which leaves very little time for eating bonbons…or at least eating them at work.

 Jamie Dunn is the Director of First-Year Success at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Advising Resource Center.  She is a UK graduate and coordinates the Agriculture Residential College in Baldwin Hall.