ELIZABETH ALDERFER Staff Writer
At Bethel College, many majors include some form of senior seminar; whether a project, internship, or completing student teaching. Many threshers this semester are out in the field, gaining experience, learning about careers, and preparing for life upon graduation.
Within the Business program, several students are interning around Newton and acquiring valuable experience. Jesse Balzer, a senior majoring in Business Administration from Hurley, South Dakota, is interning at Kauffman Museum. At Kauffman, Jesse is able to encompass a wide variety of business skills like transferring their accounting books to online, creating social media posts, working with the membership committee and helping with general technology. “I think the museum was a great choice for my internship. I am able to gain a lot of experience in all the different business fields and am not specifically stuck to only working on only accounting or marketing,” Jesse said. Jesse not only enjoys gaining business experience but also putting the concepts learned in the classroom to use.
Krista Loomis a senior from Walton, Kansas is interning in the Human Resources department at NMC Health. At NMC, she works with checking new-hire paperwork, and making sure all necessary documents are present in their employee files and double-checking paperwork and filing. With the hospital’s recent rebranding, Krista also has checked handbooks in order to assure everything has been switched from the previous name. “I hope to work in HR one day, and this internship has taught me a lot about the various aspects of HR,” Krista said.
Morgan Lantz, a senior from Elkhart, Indiana, is interning at RE/MAX Associates. At RE/MAX, Morgan is in charge of an onboarding manual, which is the process a new realtor goes through when they are hired into RE/MAX. “I also work with a website called MLS which is where realtors find houses in their domain to sell,” Morgan said. While Morgan enjoys many aspects of her internship, one part stands out in particular. “My favorite parts of this internship are the people, they are really outgoing, and make me feel like part of the team,” Morgan said.
Briley Young is a senior Social Work major from Wichita, Kansas who is interning at Peace Connections, a small non-profit located in Newton. “My favorite part about being at Peace Connections is being able to learn about the many opportunities and resources here in Newton. I get to sit in on several different meetings for various councils and organizations,” Briley said. Briley has been working on a project creating a scavenger hunt/bingo game of the murals and Little Free Libraries located around town. This community activity will be available starting March 15 and run through the remainder of March. Getting involved and engaging with the community has been a highlight for Briley, “There are so many people who are excited to serve their community in very unique ways,” Briley said.
Within the Education Department, students must undergo student teaching. Student’s begin by observing in the classroom, then begin teaching a few classes each day until eventually they assume the full role of a teacher. Anna Lubbers, a senior from Peabody, Kansas, is student teaching 7th grade math at Chisholm Middle School in Newton. Anna is currently at the stage where she has assumed the role of full time teaching. “I create and teach lessons, find activities for students to do, grade assignments, manage behavior, etc,” Anna said. Anna’s favorite part of student teaching has been getting to know her students and connecting with them.
Jaxie Gerk, a senior from Holyoke, Colorado, is also student teaching at Chisholm Middle School. Jaxie teaches in an 8th grade American History class. “My responsibilities are working with students to complete projects, presenting and explaining new information, and generally being a friendly face,” Jaxie said. Middle school students can be witty and humorous and Jaxie has stories to prove it. “I was once told I look like a Mindy by one of my students. I was also told I look like someone who has been in a fight! I definitely do not fight anyone but the kids seem to think I am very tough,” Jaxie said. Jaxie has thoroughly enjoyed working with the students, loves their energy and is excited to see what her future holds in the world of teaching.
All of these students are learning a lot about what jobs might look like after they graduate. They are gaining experience, developing connections with people in their field, and making memories. There are many others around campus interning or student teaching, as well as lower classmen observing in different areas. Reach out to fellow students, and ask about their experiences or to hear their stories, it would be worth your while!
