On July 25, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrates National Intern Day, a day to thank and honor all our hardworking interns. Interns play a vital role in the workforce and bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and enthusiasm to the dozens of USDA agencies and offices that they support.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently invited USDA summer interns to an informal event to recognize the support that they provide. He expressed the importance of having diverse leaders at USDA, a sentiment that resonated with the interns present.
“It’s been an incredibly unique experience not only interning for USDA, but actually meeting the Secretary who shared many useful tips for becoming a successful small-farm operator,” said Joan Tovar-Martinez, an intern from HEP/CAMP through the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. “I’m going to use the skills I acquired through my internship experience to pursue a future career with USDA while becoming a second-generation farmer.”
USDA puts an emphasis on promoting student engagement, recruitment, retention, and development by offering federal internship and employment positions for current students, recent graduates, recent veterans, and those with advanced degrees. The Department offers multiple opportunities, such as the Pathways programs, scholarship programs, national service programs, third-party internship programs, career development programs, the Forest Service Job Corps and the USDA Climate Change Fellows Program, and many more.
From the classroom to the workplace, USDA internship programs are designed to prepare and inspire students to pursue careers in food, agriculture, and natural resources, and to showcase the many paths to public service. USDA currently hosts about 10,000 students, volunteers, and interns in full-time programs up to a year in length. About 900 of these 10,000 are Pathways internships, a reliable path to a permanent USDA position. The number of young people employed at USDA is growing, from 1,089 permanent employees ages 20-24 in FY2022 to 1,684 in FY2023.
National Intern Day provides a great opportunity to acknowledge and express gratitude for the contributions of our interns. The interns of today are the aspiring leaders of tomorrow, and we value their varied skill sets and willingness to take on tasks with energy and enthusiasm while demonstrating creative problem-solving capabilities and technical expertise.