On her first day as an agricultural communications intern, Chloe Rogers walked into the Aksarben Foundation wearing black slacks, a pink short-sleeved sweater, and white Nike Air Force 1 shoes. The clothes fit loosely, since Rogers raided her mother’s closet. Her last employment with Flying Change Farm meant the 20-year-old had few options in office attire.
Rogers never wore the sweater again—possibly not the best decision on a hot June day, anyway. The intern completed one year of undergraduate studies at California Polytechnic State University, majoring in Agricultural Communications with a minor in Dairy Science. However, she still felt unprepared for a real-world office scenario.
Thoughts raced through her nervous mind, and Rogers wondered whether she would know what to do and how to do it. Luckily, professional mentors guided her, and she even experienced her first “work trips,” where she photographed and filmed farms in Valentine and Brewster, Nebraska.
“A great mentor can make or break an internship. The value is having a person who can serve as a coach, a guide, a safe space to become unstuck,” said LaShonna Dorsey, the executive director of the Aksarben Foundation’s Nebraska Tech Collaborative and Scholarships and Internships.
Dorsey recalls her internship days as an IT Helpdesk Specialist with Gavilon Group, LLC, where a mentor from another department strengthened her confidence. She understands the value of businesses linking with talent and co-chaired with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Internship Advisory Committee.
The Aksarben Scholarships and Internships initiative ensures STEM interns receive meaningful and career-aligned opportunities that foster a stronger future for Nebraskans. It partners with the Teammates Mentoring Program and community colleges across the state, including Iowa Western Community College, to offer scholarships for STEM majors. The initiative claims that “students who complete two internships in Nebraska are more likely to start their careers in Nebraska, strengthening Nebraska’s workforce in the long term.”
Internships do pay off after college. LinkedIn reported that 22.9% more college graduates in 2022 who pursued an internship landed a full-time position within six months compared to their non-internship peers. Unlike the older days when interns fetched coffee, placements have become competitive and consequential in recent years, with undergraduate applicants on the Gen Z career platform Handshake surging 7% from 2023 to 2025.
Bo Jones, the founder and co-owner of Tru-Built Construction, believes the solution to recruiting a younger generation like Rogers’ resides in how businesses approach the process. He created the Career Pathway platform, built by a Nebraska-based engineering team, to connect students seeking employment and educational opportunities through videos rather than pamphlets.
“It’s the TikTok generation. If you don’t engage them at that level, you lose them. They are not going to read three pages about what it means to be a carpenter,” Jones said.
High schools and colleges have access to internships, apprenticeships, and job shadows at the touch of their fingertips to bridge the gap between employers and employees. Options for Nebraskans and other states have multiplied, with over four hundred businesses adding content to the site.
Dorsey hopes businesses take advantage of the Intern Nebraska Grant program (InternNE), which provides financial assistance after hiring an intern.
“It’s fun getting into this internship space,” Dorsey says. “Nebraska has some great talent. I want to help those candidates find the right jobs.”
Jones collaborated with the Aksarben Foundation and the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) “to expand access to internships and strengthen the talent platform for Nebraska employers,” as InternNE mentions. He said he thinks internships can help students decide on career options, recalling an accounting intern who changed her major after realizing bookkeeping didn’t suit her.
The Career Pathway site offers valuable resources, providing elevated internship prospects, including a link to InternNE. His platform also offers career exploration surveys that center on employees’ interests to match with elevated employment prospects. Jones believes it’s better than a job search engine like Indeed, which used to cost him $1,500 a month with a lack of quality candidates. Even the older generation can utilize the website, and Jones has seen an uptick in eligible employees for his construction company.
Dorsey also co-hosts the Internship Success webinar series alongside Merrick Brtek, director of workforce development at the Greater Omaha Chamber. It guides interns on what to expect on that first day, how to make a good impression, and offers advice on orientation.
“I hope people continue to find great internships in our community,” Brtek says. “Omaha wants our talent to find success and growth here.”
It may have benefitted Rogers before her summer internship. But through the process and with mentor guidance, the intern learned to speak up for herself during meetings, communicate effectively across departments, and present her ideas to experts. The internship, a paying gig at $17 an hour, transformed into a part-time remote opportunity once summer ended.
Currently, Rogers works only five hours a week remotely due to her full school schedule that includes tractor driving, plant science, and podcasting. The internship provides her with hands-on experience related to her major, enhancing her resume and boosting her marketability.
“It’s been a great experience. I have grown a lot professionally over the last nine months,” Rogers said.
For more information, visit https://aksarben.org/scholarships-and-internships/
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2025 issue of B2B Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
