10 northern today One of them was Kelli (Wiedebush) Roberts, a Warner native majoring in professional accounting and banking and financial services. “It’s a good way to get your foot in the door,” Roberts said. Scott Peterson, Northern’s director of business internships, said the objective of the internship program is to bridge that space between academics and the work world. “We try to help these students lever up to that first full-time job,” Peterson said. “The internship program is a major part of that process.” Intern Erin Hoesing, an Aberdeen native majoring in professional accounting, said Northern does a great job of setting up internships. She, too, had already accepted a full-time job at Eide Bailly after her internship, so had Cameron Zent, a Watertown native majoring in professional accounting. Zent said a lot of companies come to Northern looking for interns because they know the quality of education the university provides. At South Dakota Wheat Growers, NSU alum Melissa Propst started as an intern in 2009. The Clear Lake native, who graduated in May with a degree in finance and a minor in economics, has now been hired there full time. NSU student Amanda Vogel had been working for Wheat Growers prior to seeking internship credit, and an arrangement was reached where her duties and responsibilities were increased for the internship. Now, the Ipswich native, who graduated this spring with an accounting degree, is working full time in accounting. Peterson said internships are what the student and employer want them to be. “In the end, the academic credit is secondary,” he said. “What’s important is the experience.” NSU students gain experience, employment through internships orthern State University’s numerous internship opportunities provide students with job experience – and sometimes, they even lead to full-time employment. Last spring, for example, three of four NSU interns at Eide Bailly LLP had accepted full-time jobs at the Aberdeen office. From intern to employee “It’s a good way to get your foot in the door.” “In the end, the academic credit is secondary,” he said. “What’s important is the experience.”
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