Internships and apprenticeships, when done right, give interns and apprentices life long lessons. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, these opportunities aren’t accessible to many and so we wanted to invite folks who have had these experiences to share some of the lessons they’ve learned.

Barbara Verneus

As a Black Indigenous woman never be so desperate to attain your goals that you are mistreated in any way or placed in unsafe circumstances. I learned this the hard way when attempting to find a preceptor/apprenticeship and ended up with a preceptor who was racist and emotionally and mentally abusive within her role/form of power to her students. I would suggest any students looking for placement to ask for a contract, make sure there are clear expectations and ask to speak with their previous students. Read more>>

Matt Michelson

After my time in the Marine Corps, I was accepted into the Caterpillar “Think Big” program. It’s a 2 year program where you intern at a Cat dealer location for 8 weeks then go to a community college for 8 weeks. I really enjoyed my time as an intern at the Ohiocat Troy and Cleveland dealer locations. As an intern it is so important to pay attention to everything going on around you. Often times you pick up tips and tricks by working with or observing others. Sometimes however you might also learn bad habits or shortcuts. Read more>>

Kalli Melenius

When I met my mentor, I had no idea that that’s who he’d end up being to me. We were at at dinner for a mutual friend and were seated beside each other. He introduced himself as Corey and said that he was a studio engineer and did live show production. I told him that I was studying to be a yoga teacher and was currently a barista at a kids play cafe. He laughed at me, out loud, and then asked me if that was what I really wanted to do. I explained to him that I really loved it. Read more>>