INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Colby Levengood
- Hometown: Salisbury, MD
- Major: Management and Accounting Minor
- Fun fact about me: I am an Eagle Scout!
- Name of internship host and location: Perdue Farms (Delmarva South), Salisbury, MD
- When did you complete your internship? Summer 2023
- How did you find it? I found this internship on the Perdue site and applied for it at the SU job fair.
- What was your role and or some duties? I worked at Perdue Delmarva South, which is in the live production department in the Growout subsection. I interned under a flock supervisor position, which meant I managed chicken farms. I ensured that chickens would grow in a happy, healthy environment. The internship required a lot of time as there are many factors in the process, and the farms can be far from each other. The job requires that routine visits be made to farms based on the birds age to ensure different aspects of the birds’ environment are up to program. These aspects include temperature settings, chicken house temperature, litter management, drinker management, water consumption levels, daily mortality, static pressure reading, tunnel and exhaust fan settings, and light settings. Most of this data could be read, changed, or set from the farm controller, which is a computer that runs each individual house on a chicken farm. Also, each intern in Growout is given a project, and my project was to compare bird weights at 21 days. I had the opportunity to travel to Lewiston, North Carolina, meet the staff in that area, and weigh and collect data for my project.
- Why this particular internship or organization? I wanted an internship in the chicken industry because members of my family work or have worked in the business. When I was a kid, I would ask these family members about it, and I found what they told me interesting. As a result, it motivated me to pursue a career in the industry, and this internship seemed like the best opportunity to get my first exposure to it.
- What was your experience like or favorite part? My favorite part of this internship was meeting all the people. I had an opportunity to meet people in the hatchery, at the plant, on the farms, and in North Carolina.
- How has this experience helped you? This experience influenced my future career path, because of how it was structured. The internship was outside, away from a desk, with flexible hours that I could control. Also, the job was hands on; and required critical thinking as well as problem Identification skills. Before this internship, I would not have wanted a position where the hours were flexible because of my prior experience. This opportunity helped me realize what I would look for in a future career.
- What’s next for you? My main goal is to graduate on time in spring 2024, but I am not entirely sure what I want to do when I graduate. I want to try new and different job experiences to see if there is anything else I would enjoy. However, as of right now, I would want to pursue a career like what I did at Perdue Farms.
- Advice for other students: Take chances when finding jobs or internships because you might find something you like. Also, when you get a career and your boss presents you with a new opportunity within the company, say yes because it shows them you are willing to try new things and take more responsibility. Lastly, go to the job fair because it allows you to meet people, see new businesses and industries, and make a name for yourself.
- Kudos to PSB – I would like to thank the Perdue School for their knowledge and influence. The classes provided by the school allowed me to improve my management practices in a job-like setting and helped prepare me for the business world.
INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Tylr Wolfkill
- Hometown: Pasadena, MD
- Major: Management
- Fun fact about me: I can juggle!
- Name of internship host and location: Stanley Black and Decker, located in Towson, Maryland
- When did you complete your internship? Summer 2023
- How did you find it? I searched through numerous job sites, but I found the Stanley Black and Decker (SBD) summer internship through Google’s suggestions. I just kept going back to Google every couple of days and ‘googling” a variety of key words like “summer internships” and “management internships,” and eventually I came across SBD.
- What was your role and or some duties? I am a product management intern on the Black and Decker cleaning team. My internship involved a little bit of everything – some management, marketing, sales, finance, and some others. I focused a lot on helping to grow the brand by doing research online and bringing in participants to do consumer research for products from Black and Decker and their competitors in order to create a strategy for what we want to focus on and create in the future. I created PowerPoint presentations with my research findings, then presented them to share them with the team and offer suggestions on next steps for current and future products.
- What was your experience like or favorite part? My internship with SBD exceeded my expectations! I was not only given meaningful work, but it was also fun, and I learned new things every day. I learned about each step in the process of creating a new product starting at the brainstorming stage and going all the way to what happens after we launch it into the market. One of my favorite parts of the internship was getting to test out all the different products and then comparing their performance and features to all of my other research. This helped me make suggestions on how to improve our current and future products.
- How has this experience helped you? It has helped me become more comfortable with teamwork and learning how to think outside the box. I also have learned that when in a new environment, especially an internship, it’s important to go out of your comfort zone so you can meet everyone and gain as much experience as possible. Making connections is key. Not only does it make your days more fun, but it also helps you figure out who to ask what questions.
- What’s next for you? SBD offered to extend my internship to go through the fall/winter, which I accepted so I am currently continuing my internship part-time, remotely from here at SU. Then, once I graduate in spring 2024, I hope to turn my internship into a full-time job with SBD!
- Advice for other students: Really hunt for an internship that seems interesting to you; don’t settle for one that isn’t appealing to you just because you have to get an internship. Look at many different sites, using key words, over a few weeks or months. Then, once you start your internship, just do your best. Prepare to know nothing and learn a lot. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but just stick with it, and you will catch on!
- Kudos to PSB for teaching me so many valuable skills throughout all my classes that I used daily in my internship. Things I used that I‘ve been taught in PSB: Excel skills, ethics in the workplace, international business, marketing strategies, teamwork, and so much more!