This past summer, IU Southeast had 55 students placed in internships, 35 of which were paid internships.
The internship opportunities ranged for various majors such as geology, communications and business marketing.
Samtec, LG&E, American Commercial Lines, Brown Forman and the Indiana Pacers were a few of the companies that offered internships to IUS students this summer.
Geology Internship
Brittany Blevins, geology senior, had an internship with Bureau of Land Management’s National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center as their geologist and education specialist in Baker City, Ore.
“I got to see a lot of really interesting geologic places,” Blevins said. “The geology in Oregon is totally different than Indiana. I also got to work with a retired geologist who volunteers at the Center.”
Blevins received the internship through GeoCorps America, part of the Geological Society of America.
“They list several different internships for geosciences students and professionals,” Blevins said. “I just sent in my résumé and cover letters to a couple different job listings and had to go through a couple phone interviews until the Interpretive Center finally hired me.”
Blevins said one of her most memorable experiences while interning was having the opportunity to work with children for the Thursday Outdoor Club. The TOC is a two-hour, fun and educational outdoor class for children to keep active while out of school for the summer.
“I organized and led several of the TOC’s and got to know the kids very well,” Blevins said. “They were always excited to learn about geology, and always liked seeing my new projects and programs outside of the TOC.”
Indiana Pacers
Matthew Butler, business marketing junior, and his girlfriend, Jenna Swain, communications junior, both took a summer internship with the Indiana Pacers Promotions Department. The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis.
Butler and Swain applied online for several of the same internships to promote the sports franchise.
“We applied for Colts, Pacers and local sports franchise marketing internships,” Butler said. “Jenna got a call from the Pacers, and three days later, I did also.”
Butler primarily worked with the Pacers fan van where he scheduled events and also registered children for the Pacers’ Kid’s Club. Butler said the Pacers fan van is a large Dodge Sprinter that travels within 75 miles of Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to different areas to promote the Indiana Pacers.
“We go out to get different communities aware of the Indiana Pacers,” Butler said. “It was a really fun internship and a really good experience, especially if you want to work in the sport franchise.”
Brown-Forman Internship
Jonathan Salazar, marketing and international business senior, was offered an internship for Brown-Forman this summer where he was presented with several opportunities to travel. Brown-Forman is one of the largest American-owned companies in the spirits and wine business.
During his internship, Salazar was given the opportunity to travel to Mexico for an event that el Jimador tequila was sponsoring in the middle of July.
These winners received the opportunity to play against former U.S. and Mexico professional soccer players.
“The most amazing part of this event was when they told me that I would be able to participate and play alongside these legends,” Salazar said. “Standing there in the field, getting advice from my childhood heroes, was almost unreal.”
In addition to the event, Salazar said the Brown-Forman team in Mexico took him on a two-day market immersion where they visited different off-premise stores. Off-premise stores are stores in which alcohol can be bought but not consumed, such as liquor and grocery stores.
“It was a very interesting experience, and I learned how different socioeconomic levels can have an effect on stores as far as store layout, staff and products even within the same category of stores,” Salazar said.
In the last week of July, Salazar was able to travel to New York City to meet with representatives of UM, which is an international media agency.
He also went to Philadelphia to attend the MLS All-Star game on July 25.
“I have had an incredible summer at Brown-Forman,” Salazar said. “I have done and learned things that will benefit me and my career for the rest of my life. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest people in the industry. I am excited to see what the next steps of my life will be.”
By COURTNEY MCKINLEY
Profiles Editor
comckinl@imail.iu.edu
