Ferris State University students gain valuable work experience through internships. Internships also can confirm or redirect career decision-making, provide marketability, develop people skills and enhance classroom learning. Many academic programs require one, but the experience is encouraged regardless to provide students with a better understanding of what will be expected of them in the workplace.
Many students are participating in myriad internships this summer. Meet: Jennifer Thorne
She is: A senior from Newaygo, Mich., majoring in Medical Laboratory Science
Internship: Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont, a not-for-profit community hospital whose mission is “to improve the health of the communities we serve.”
Jennifer’s 18-week unpaid internship will wrap up this fall.
What she’s learning: Jennifer is getting a first-hand look at what it is like to work as a medical technician by learning how to perform blood and spinal fluid testing.
“Everything I am learning at my internship will benefit me,” Jennifer said. “The experiences I have every day on internship are what I will be doing for a career in the future.”
Favorite experience: After working in Ferris’ simulated laboratory for Medical Laboratory Science students, Jennifer is gaining real-world experience.
“My favorite thing has been reporting out real patients,” she said. “It is a new and exciting experience to be working on a real patient.”
Core values: Jennifer said her internship has mirrored all of Ferris’ core values – Collaboration, Diversity, Ethical Community, Excellence, Learning and Opportunity – in one way or another.
“In a lab, you all have to work together, and every employee is different,” Jennifer said. “Gerber’s lab has shown great initiative towards excellent customer service.”
Her plan: Jennifer will graduate upon completion of her internship and will take her certification examination. She plans to pursue a job in medical technology.