NW Missouri Times

Northwest Missouri State University students took part in a range of internships over the summer, working at organizations from museums and medical centers to food manufacturers and government agencies. The university encourages all students to complete at least one internship before graduation to gain practical experience.

“Internships are important for all majors because they allow you to integrate some information that you’ve learned in the classroom, some skills that you’re building socially outside the classroom and work ethic,” said Hannah Christian, director of Career Services. “You’re learning processes of a specific business, so it’s learning, but it’s a different type of learning – and it’s integrative and adds all those things together into something that’s totally different than classroom or academic work.”

Nora Crowley, a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, interned at the Andrew County Museum in Savannah. She cataloged items and worked with historical objects while leading her own exhibit project. “I’m interested in one day being a museum curator, so being able to work in collections and with museum exhibits and artifacts was really of interest to me,” Crowley said. “It also said that I would be able to work with objects, because I had only had experience here at the (University) archives.” She added: “I feel like it’s absolutely going to prepare me. It’s definitely a very good stepping stone for me to get other internships at larger museums. This internship was pretty much a crash course on everything I would love to do after graduation, how to curate in a museum.”

Arends, a senior from Marshall, Missouri, spent his internship at Conagra Brands’ plant in Marshall where he joined the supply chain management team. He applied his academic knowledge from Northwest during his time there. “I did learn a lot of things in my major to apply everything I learned to a real-world business,” Arends said. He noted the importance of communication within business operations: “The main thing that I learned was how important communication is, especially in the business world,” Arends said. “The amount of meetings I had every single day, it was amazing. Sometimes I even asked myself, ‘Wow, is this even necessary?’ But it really is.”

Kaelyn Simnitt interned with Clay County Emergency Management after connecting with faculty through Northwest’s Missouri Hope training exercise for emergency management students. Her duties included social media outreach and community engagement events for children and older adults. Simnitt credited her education for preparing her: “I feel like our program is really good about hands-on experience,” she said.

Neas, from Urbandale, Iowa, participated in set construction as part of an internship with the Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore. He described gaining confidence through long hours building platforms for performances: “It definitely gave me a lot more confidence in my skills going into this school year and then gave me a lot of assurance that ‘Yes, I can do this type of thing for a career,’” Neas said.

Ashlynn Russell split her summer between interning at Nelson Angus Ranch in Idaho—after making connections through Northwest’s School of Agricultural Sciences—and serving as an animal health intern at the Missouri State Fair with the Department of Agriculture. At Nelson Angus Ranch she worked on livestock tasks; at the fair she helped veterinarians check animals’ health status.

Ethan Cooper continued his involvement with wetland management by interning at Fountain Grove Conservation Area under the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). His tasks included water management and banding waterfowl as part of research efforts tracking bird migration patterns.

Harley Spurlock interned as an athletic trainer at Shenandoah Medical Center in Iowa after contacting several hospitals during her search process. She worked with young athletes during weight training sessions: “My advice to other students looking for an internship would be that it never hurts to reach out,” Spurlock said.

Aaron Hare photographed games for the St. Joseph Mustangs baseball organization alongside other student photographers from regional schools—a role he says expanded both his professional network and technical skills: “[Working with the Mustangs] opened my eyes that this really is an opportunity to pursue professionally,” Hare said.

Tanner Jackley completed an internship integrating new business systems for Basys Payment Solutions in Lenexa while also pursuing personal coding projects; he now continues part-time employment there.

Morgan Farris assisted staff as an intern with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Northeast Regional Office by conducting inspections and helping organize investigations into environmental concerns such as abandoned chemical drums.

These experiences reflect Northwest Missouri State University’s emphasis on practical learning opportunities designed to help students transition successfully into their careers.