Students find summer work in Vermillion

While thousands of students will pack up their belonging and return to their hometowns beginning next week, there are a select few who will stay put for the summer months.

Whether it be for off or on-campus jobs or summer classes, Vermillion will continue to play host for students at the University of South Dakota during the summer break.

First-year Jasmine Blue  will intern this summer in the social work camp she found through her USD adviser. Meanwhile, Blue will work at her family’s restaurant, Little Italy’s.

Blue said she will not be paid to work at the camp, because it is based on volunteer hours. To apply to the program, students have to have certain numbers of volunteer hours, class credits and a certain GPA.

“These volunteer hours will help me further myself in the program,” she said.

This summer, Blue said she is looking forward to her job.

“Vermillion is larger than my hometown, so it will be fun,” she said. “I have been working there for over a year. It is a blast and a half.”

Blue is planning to have an apartment and plans to take a road trip. This is her second summer staying in Vermillion working at a camp. She worked at an Ambassador’s Camp last summer as a counselor for the community service hours and for fun.

“I will work with a lot of kids that are troubled youths,” Blue said. “We will do crafts in a day-camp setting while getting volunteer hours.”

Senior Jordan Catlett has previously interned in Vermillion. Last summer she had an internship with Sanford Research’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience studying biology. Catlett said her internship was a great learning experience.

“It really opened up a lot of doors and set up a shadowing opportunity to see the genetics lab at Sanford,” Catlett said. “I learned a lot about my focus with looking at a specific gene and limb development.”

This summer she is interning in the Sioux Falls area with the same program. Catlett’s said her experiences in the summertime in Vermilion were quiet, except for weekly speakers who talked about health and research.

“Usually you would travel or go to the river in your spare time,” Catlett said.

Catlett said the key was to know others who are staying for the summer.

“If you’re here by yourself, it’s not fun,” Catlett said. “Try and stay with a friend or roommate.”

She said she is not looking forward to the lack of people.

“All the students go home, so there is a lack of other things to do because the clubs are not going on with meetings and events,” Catlett said.

Catlett said knowing locals is a plus because not a lot of the students know about Shakespeare in the park, the river or other events happening downtown during the summer months.

First-year Benjamin Hawkins, who will return home for summer, said he discourages students to stay in Vermillion.

He pushes to have more global and cultural experiences that aren’t necessarily educational. However, he said he is not opposed to an internship over the summer if the intern will enjoy themselves.

“For me, it is not about how much money, it is the quality and experience that I meet,” Hawkins said. “If you hate your job or internship, it will not be worth the money.”

Photo: Senior Jordan Catlett interned at the Churchill-Haines Laboratories where she worked on biology research. She says that the internship was a great learning experience and recommends that students staying on campus try to stay with a friend or roommate. (Malachi Petersen/The Volante)