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Internships Success Stories

Crafting Success

Advice from a career advisor helped Food Science student Sierra Kuhn land a competitive national internship that clarified her long-term goals

Two students wearing hairnets and grey scrubs work in a commercial cheese-making facility
OSU food science student Sierra Kuhn and a fellow intern at work in the cheesemaking facility at Firefly Farms Creamery.

Some students enter college without a clear idea of what they want to do after they graduate. Not Sierra Kuhn.

The Food Science major chose Oregon State University specifically because she wanted to learn the science of cheesemaking, leaving behind her sunny home state of Arizona to enroll in OSU’s Food Science program. And when she learned of a selective national internship program that would give her the opportunity to get hands-on experience with a sustainable creamery, Sierra was determined to land it.

“I knew it was going to be really competitive, and I wanted to make sure I had my best chance at getting it,” she said.

So she took her resume, a draft of her application, and made an appointment with Katie Harvey, her university career advisor.

Katie is one of a team of career advisors at OSU. She provides career support tailored to students in the College of Agricultural Sciences, advising them on resume development, job searches, interviewing skills and more.

Katie and Sierra sat down together and worked on Sierra’s application for the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund Farm Apprenticeship program, which places young adults into month-long apprenticeships based on sustainable farms.

“Katie helped me specify and tailor my application to the Anne Saxelby program. I’m bad at talking myself up, but she helped me create some better descriptions for the application.”

Sierra Kuhn, student, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences

After completing the application, gathering multiple letters of recommendation, and crafting a tailored resume and cover letter, Sierra still wasn’t sure she would get in. She was only a freshman, and the program, which offers lodging, work experience and a stipend, draws applicants from all across the United States.

“When I got the news that I got in, I was shocked!” Sierra said. “It was really competitive, but I got in.”

She was placed at Firefly Farms, an artisan creamery in rural Maryland. Firefly sources goat and cow milk from nearby Amish farmers and makes a variety of hard and soft cheese. Sierra’s apprenticeship involved working under a head cheesemaker to learn all aspects of the cheesemaking process.

“The work was very hands-on,” she said. “I was up every morning picking up fresh bags of chevre. I had learned about cheesemaking in my dairy process class, but I didn’t fully comprehend how much physical labor was involved until my apprenticeship.”

A student in a hairnet and scrubs is seen at work in a cheesemaking facility, visible through a window with a sign that says "Caution - Raw Milk Area."
Sierra Kuhn working in the cheesemaking facility at Firefly Farms Creamery.

After her summer in the apprenticeship program, Sierra realized she was most drawn to the behind-the-scenes aspects that go into food science – and that she wanted to explore opportunities in food science beyond just cheesemaking.

“I realized that there are other opportunities besides just being the one making the cheese,” she said. “They have all these recipes that guide the work. It made me realize I want to go deeper.”

One year later, Sierra has been accepted for a second year in the Anne Saxelby program, and this time she’s branching into a new aspect of food science, with an internship at Matunuck Organic Vegetable Farm in Rhode Island.

“I wanted to branch out,” she said. “I will be doing a lot of hands-on farming, and I’ll be learning about soil health and the microbes that help facilitate it.”

Sierra’s advice to other students considering applying for competitive internships?

“Apply no matter what!” she said. “The worst they can do is so no. Go for it, why not?”

Three ways to get help with internship applications

  1. Use Vmock, OSU’s online resume tool. Vmock will scan your resume and make automated suggestions for improvement.
  2. Meet with a career assistant. You can have scheduled or drop-in appointments with one of OSU’s trained peer advisors to work on your resume, cover letter, or other application materials.
  3. Meet with a college-specific Career Advisor. Each undergraduate college at OSU has a career advisor who can offer specialized career advice and insights. Make an appointment via Beaver Hub (find your career advisor under the Success Team tab in Beaver Hub).

Resume and cover letter tips

Categories
Internships

Last minute internships: five tips for finding them

So, you were busy all year and you never found time to search for a summer internship. Now it’s June and you’re not sure what to do!

Here are five tips from career advisors on finding an internship, even when it’s late in the hiring season.

A student sits cross-legged with a laptop open on their lap. To the side is a graphic of an online search bar with the words "internships near me"

1. Reach out directly.

Is there a company you’re interested in working for? Check out their website or LinkedIn page. Even if you don’t see an internship posted, contact someone at the company to check! Employers don’t always publicize their internships as heavily as they do full-time jobs. The best way to find out if someone’s hiring is just to ask.

Tip: If you’re not sure what companies to contact, use the Buzzfile Employers by Major tool. Buzzfile is not a job board, but a great site for finding all the employers affiliated with a certain industry in a specific state or city – try searching for employers with keywords related to your major, who are located near your hometown or the city where you plan to spend your summer.

2. Use your network.

Many jobs come not from spotting a posting online, but from a personal connection. You may not think you have a professional network yet, but you have connections through OSU whether you realize it or not! A few networking ideas:

  1. Ask career advisors, professors, friends, parents, co-workers and TAs who is hiring and who they can introduce you to. (Don’t know who your career advisor is? Check the Career Development Center staff list or email us to connect.)
  2. Connect with OSU alumni! Use OSU Connections (OSU’s online professional networking site) or LinkedIn (search for Oregon State University and then click the “alumni” tab) to find alumni who are working at companies you’re interested in.
  3. Even if someone isn’t hiring currently, you always can ask them for an informational interview. An informational interview is a brief call or meeting where you can get to know someone at a company you’re interested in, and learn more about what that industry is like. An informational interview creates a relationship and can lead to more opportunities. Check out the Career Development Center website for more about informational interviews and how to request one.

3. Customize your materials to each position.

Many companies are now using automated screening tools to filter applications. If your resume and cover letter don’t contain the key words the AI is looking for, your materials might not ever get in front of human eyes.

Look carefully at the job description and see what skills they are looking for, then find commonalities in your own experiences that you can list to show how you meet the specific requirements for that job.

Tip: The experiences you list to meet job requirements or keywords don’t have to only come from paid work! Classroom experience and non-paid work like volunteering, clubs, sports, Greek life and more can all help you gain transferable skills that are very relevant, and they’re valid to include when you’re applying! 

4. Use a college-focused job board

Handshake is a job and internship search tool that’s specifically for college students and recent grads. While some jobs posted on Indeed or other job boards might be looking for people with years of experience, employers who post on Handshake are looking for college students. All OSU students have free access to Handshake via their ONID account – log in at oregonstate.joinhandshake.com.

A few tips on Handshake: this is a national job board with thousands of listings, so use filters to see exactly the kinds of jobs you want! You can filter by location, remote work availability, keywords and more. If you see a job you like, even if you don’t apply for it, favorite it – when you favorite certain positions, Handshake will show you more jobs like that next time you log in.

5. Use OSU’s free career services

Stop by the Career Development Center for a drop-in appointment or schedule an appointment in advance to work with an advisor who can help you tailor your materials and give you ideas about the best places to search for jobs. 

You can also access free online tools through the Career Development Center’s website:

  • a free online resume checker: Vmock
  • An online interview prep tool: StandOut
  • A career assessment tool that will help you figure out what would be a good fit for you: Focus2

More internship search tips

  • Want to work on campus? Many OSU departments hire students for the summer or all year long. Even if the department you work for isn’t directly related to your major, it can still provide a great experience for your resume.