Interns from both the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) met with several senior employees from various agencies last week during the Student and Intern Information Seminar hosted by USDA. The seminar was designed to help interns better understand their agency and meet fellow interns.
Students began the day by listening to several USDA employees including RMA administrator William Murphy and FSA Administrator Jonathan Coppess. Both gave advice to the students about their internships and briefly described their own career path. The administrators stressed that interns be proactive in the office and ask for ways to help employees. Other presentations were given on how to find a federal job, office etiquette and how to make the most out of an internship.
Lunch was served in the Secretary’s Dining Room where several employees from RMA, FSA and the Foreign Agriculture Service spoke to interns about the importance of their work and how it affects people throughout the country. After lunch the interns were given a tour of the Secretary’s office and the Forest Service.
For FSA intern Sean Armijo, the orientation was a benefit. “I was able to analyze future opportunities and benefits available through the public sector,” said Armijo, an accounting major at the University of New Mexico.
Nearly 40 students attended the orientation representing states from all around the country. A portion of the students were from Washington-based internship programs such as the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and Washington Internship for Native Students; however, the majority of students were from field offices mainly based in Kansas City.
The orientation ended with a Q&A session with intern alumni currently working for USDA. Students were able to pick the brains of current employees and receive valuable advice about securing a future with the federal government and the opportunities USDA has to offer.
