Internships give Linfield students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom, which better prepares them for future careers.

Senior marketing major Kipp Marstall completed a commodity trading internship at Bridgewell Resources in Tigard, Oregon.

“Shadowing and helping professional traders gave me a better understanding of the industry,” said Martsall.

Martsall was able to see how an education at Linfield can transfer to the workplace after connecting with several alumni at Bridgewell.

Tatum Chidlaw, a junior exercise science major, said that her internship at the Field Museum’s institutional advancement department in Chicago gave her the opportunity to expand her knowledge beyond the classroom.

“I had an opportunity to learn things that I may not be able to in the future or from my typical classroom experience at Linfield,” Chidlaw said.

Chidlaw participated in her internship through the Kemper Scholars Program, a scholarship that allows freshman to complete an internship in Chicago and one anywhere in the world.

Chidlaw’s business focused internship may not be as relevant to her exercise science major, but she says she learned many skills she will utilize in her future career.

“I feel like I have a lot more understanding of office culture and expectations in the work place,” said Chidlaw.

Participating in an internship can greatly increase the chances of getting a job out of college by allowing students the opportunity to connect with Linfield alumni and other professionals.

Senior business and communication arts major George Saul completed an internship with Fred Meyer, a company that Saul says has “Linfield people all over.”

Junior management major Chris Poole stayed local with his internship at the McMinnville Economic De- velopment Partnership.

Poole says he was drawn to this particular internship because they offered him “a lot of freedom and flex- ibility.”

This allowed him to expand his knowledge in several different areas such as press release writing, communication, and marketing, which he is now planning to pursue as a career.

There are a variety of ways students can find internships.

Poole began this internship during January term where he developed the summer internship program and was then asked back to supervise the summer interns.

Saul and Martsall used resources provided through the Office of Career Development to get their internships.

Martsall was able to connect with professionals at Bridgewell through the Lunch on Us program, hosted by Career Development, then applied for the position.

Saul used Cat Connect, the job search database at Linfield, and was one of 80 applicants for the HR internship position at Fred Meyer.

Students may complete an internship that is not in their field of study but there is still much they can learn from the experience.

Internships are often the first step students take into the professional world.

Saul says he is interested in pursuing a career at Fred Meyer, “It really opened my eyes to the opportunities Fred Meyer has to offer.”

Internships allow students to hone skills and develop new ones that will help them navigate the ever changing job market.