ST. PAUL, Minn. — As summer draws to a close, and students head back to
school, the State of Minnesota is saying goodbye to the nearly 700 interns who
worked across state agencies and throughout the state. Minnesota’s summer
interns may have represented a wide range of ages and educational backgrounds,
from high school to Ph.D. programs, but they all came together to spend their
summer helping to build a better Minnesota.
State internship programs give young professionals just
starting their career an opportunity to gain real life experience and encourage
them to consider a job in public service. Many interns come to public service
through partnerships between the state and educational or community based programs, including Right
Track, Urban Scholars, Step-Up, Star of the North fellowship, and the U of M
School of Law.
Here are reflections from two summer interns:
Blake Rondeau –
Intern for the Department of Veteran Affairs
As a student worker for the
Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs I have been contributing to writing
blogs, press releases and media advisories. I have also taken on the task of
social media where I create a posting calendars, create and find content and
respond to our follower’s questions and comments. There are also events that I
have attended where I needed to help set up and/or take photos for our
documentation and usage in website/sm/annual report usage.
Working at MDVA has afforded me
many opportunities to familiarize myself with computer programs needed for
daily work such as SharePoint and Tridion.
Because I am a veteran I have
taken it upon myself to reach out to veteran groups around the Twin Cities and
sought volunteer opportunities between our Homes and these groups. Being a
veteran is not a requirement for the position, but a knowledge of veteran’s
issues and groups in Minnesota would be a great asset to the MDVA.
Furaha Rypa – Intern
for Minnesota Management and Budget
When I first arrived at Minnesota Management
and Budget, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it might be an office job.
However, things didn’t end up like that. From the moment I entered the building
everyone welcomed me as a member of the team.
This internship gave me many
opportunities that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Opportunities such as
learning how to build a website, taking pictures for events, meeting state
officials such as the Governor and Lt. Governor. I also had the chance to
attend various meetings. Each meeting that I was invited to, I learned so much
about state government work that I never knew before. Also I was given the
opportunity to expand my photography skills.
I gained so much interning at MMB.
Throughout my summer I was able to meet many amazing people and make great
connections. Most importantly, this internship gave me a chance to learn more
about myself and what I want to do after college.
If you are interested in a future internship with the State
of Minnesota, visit
the MN Careers website.
Intern Reception with
Governor Mark Dayton
To thank them for their service, Governor Dayton and Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith
held an intern reception. Here are photos from the event:
 Governor Mark Dayton speaks with interns at a recent summer intern reception.
 Governor Mark Dayton chats with a few of the State's interns. This summer, the State of Minnesota had nearly 700 interns.
 Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith welcomes people at a recent reception for all State of Minnesota summer interns.
 Jaime Tincher, Chief of Staff for Governor Dayton, also stopped by to network during the intern reception.
 Chief Inclusion Officer James Burroughs engages with interns at a recent reception hosted by Governor Dayton.
Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans talks with a couple interns about their summer with the State of Minnesota.
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Media Contact: Keith Hovis, 651-259-3666
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