Michigan Allied Poultry Industries recently announced applications are now open for its summer internship program.
The non-profit trade organization has 30 spaces open for summer internships, three times as many as in past years. Opportunities are available at six farms and agribusiness companies across the state, as well as in Ohio.
The MAPI internship program aims to help college students interested in careers in the poultry industry get hands-on experience and make connections with family farms. All internships are paid positions. Applications are due by Feb. 14.
“Michigan’s poultry industry has a growing number of opportunities for students interested in animal science, farm management, feed and nutrition and logistics,” Allison Brink, MAPI executive director, said in a statement. “Hands-on experience is the best way for students to understand what careers are available, their strengths and interests, and give them a head start through connections with farms.
”Interns will receive on-farm training and learn in-depth skills at vertically integrated farms where students will see and learn about operations at many levels. Students will train alongside a mentor and independently to develop skills while accomplishing daily hands-on tasks.
Jessica Murawski, who recently graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in animal science, first interned at Farm Crest Foods in Pigeon through the MAPI internship program. After graduation, she accepted a full-time position at Farm Crest Foods, where she is now a supervisor, training to manage the pullet farm in the future.
During her internship, she learned every job on the farm, starting with barn chores in the coops, all the way to the processing plant.
“The MAPI internship was key to finding a position that was perfect for me, using my skills and in my area of interest, which is poultry science,” Murawski said. “The internship program not only gave me the hands-on experience to succeed in my job, but also opened the door to connections I never would have made on my own.”
Application and additional information are available at http://www.mipoultry.com/programs/.
