LSU Engineering Students Enjoy Summer Internship with BASF
BATON ROUGE – As part of its workforce development and recruiting efforts, the BASF
site in Geismar, La., is hosting 18 LSU Engineering interns this summer. The site
is BASF’s largest manufacturing facility in North America and offers students a hands-on
experience, helping them get a feel for being a professional engineer in their respective
disciplines.
The company finds it important to not only provide interns with knowledge that will help them land their first job, but also show them the importance of community involvement.
“We have a variety of different positions and opportunities for summer projects that really touch upon every discipline of engineering,” said BASF Communications Hub Manager Jolen Stein, who is responsible for the internship program, community outreach, science education, and media relations for BASF sites in the southeastern U.S.
“LSU is a core recruiting university for us in engineering,” she added. “We’re thrilled to have so many students from LSU that were really successful in the interviewing process and were able to come on board with us this year.”
Kendall Ravey, a senior in computer science and engineering from Baton Rouge, said that he found out about the BASF internship program through his mother, who is a longtime BASF employee.
“When she told me about the internship, I jumped on it fast,” Ravey said. “It’s far better than I ever could have imagined. The team I’m with is fantastic.”
Stein said BASF makes sure it has worthwhile projects for the interns to work on and matches them to opportunities that would be of the greatest benefit.
“We want to make sure they have a great experience from beginning to end,” she said.
LSU Chemical Engineering junior Jubril Kogas, a native of Baton Rouge, said his internship at BASF will definitely help him with finding a job after school.
“BASF is trying to implement new tablets to use during its reading rounds, which is when it goes out and takes measurements for equipment outside the plant,” he said. “I’m going to help with that. This will help me with any future job in my field.”
During the three-month internship, students get hands-on experience in their respective engineering disciplines, which also gives BASF employees a chance to see if the interns would be a good fit as employees one day.
“It’s definitely about them getting experience, knowing more about the company, and what kind of careers we offer, but it’s also us getting to know them because hopefully these interns could potentially be candidates for full-time positions,” Stein said.
Allison Jones, a junior in construction management from Slidell, La., said BASF is definitely a company she would want to work for down the road.
“I could see moving out of state and working for BASF, since I know they have a location in Texas,” she said. “That’s probably where I’ll end up since construction is so big out there.”
“Of course, you have different students looking for different things,” Stein said. “Having a global company like BASF does offer a lot more opportunity and assignments that could be [found] overseas. You can also stay at a site like Geismar and rise through many different positions and spend your whole career there.”
Throughout the summer months, the interns also participate in community activities that earn them volunteer service hours. One such event is Dream Night, where interns dress up as characters and interact with pediatric cancer patients by doing arts and crafts and other activities with them.
“A lot of the interns really appreciate being given the opportunity to give back to the community, Stein said.
Interns like LSU Mechanical Engineering junior Anna Deshotels, a native of Baton Rouge,
are grateful for BASF’s involvement with the community.
“What I think is the most interesting thing about this internship is that I’m fortunate
BASF is sponsoring a theater production I’m in this summer,” she said. “It’s really
awesome that they’re supporting one of my passions in the community.”
Though many students find out about BASF internships through word of mouth, many apply during the two career fairs BASF attends on LSU’s campus each spring and fall.
“There are two times to apply for the summer internship program,” Stein said. “We look at them during career fair season in the fall, and we also have another posting in January.”
LSU Electrical and Computer Engineering senior Mohammed Mohammed found out about the BASF internship through the spring job fair and is currently working on instrument reliability with the company.
“It’s going great,” he said. “This experience will definitely help me in the working field.”
BASF recommends students look into applying for an internship during their sophomore year. Students may visit BASF’s career website and create a profile. Once a position is posted, the site will alert the student he or she can apply online.
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Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Specialist
225-578-4840