As this spring semester comes to an end, the summer will bring long days filled with sunshine and endless opportunities. 

Students at Auburn will be welcoming this well-deserved break in many ways, whether they will spend their days working, traveling or relaxing without the stress of classes and exams weighing on them. 

Many Auburn students will be spending their summer interning around the country, in order to gain work experience and begin their introduction to the professional world. 

Some of the majors here at Auburn require at least one internship before graduation, but regardless of whether an internship is required it is an opportunity to gain more experience in a chosen career field and get a glimpse of what working life will be like after graduation. 

Madison Larson, junior in marketing, said she will spend her summer interning in Florida for the Miami Dolphins professional football team.

“I decided to choose this internship because I wanted to gain an inside look at the stadium operations in the NFL,” Larson said. “I ultimately wanted to make the connections necessary to continue working there after graduation.” 

Larson said her internship working with the NFL team will not only offer her an introduction to the world of professional sports but will also allow her to gain hands-on experience and more networking opportunities. 

However, other students will be staying closer to home for their internships this summer. 

Nicole Berman, junior in mechanical engineering, will be interning at Lockheed Martin this summer. 

Berman said she chose to intern at Lockheed Martin in order to gain job experience and hopes to continue working there after graduating from Auburn. 

“I want to work in defense contracting when I graduate and Lockheed is the largest contractor in America, and will hopefully hire me after graduation,” Berman said. 

Tyler Burns, senior in computer science, will be spending his summer interning at Horne Lip in Ridgeland, Mississippi. 

Burns said he chose his internship to gain more experience working in his career field and to hone his computer science skills. 

“I want to get into data science when I get out of school, and this is a data analytics internship so it will help me with my career,” Burns said. “I will probably be doing a lot of data cleanup and data visualization while I am there.”

Burns said he heard about the internship at an engineering career fair hosted at Auburn and thought it would be a great experience to help further his career aspirations after graduation.

Whether an internship is found through networking or LinkedIn, choosing to spend the summer interning will not only improve one's resumé but can also offer the chance to travel somewhere new and exciting for the summer.