Before Idaho State University student Sierra Hart entered the CPI program, she had no idea how to pursue her goal of landing a job with Idaho Fish and Game.

“I knew I wanted to work with wildlife and natural resources, but I knew little about the agencies that provide this work experience,” said the biology major and first-generation college student, who intends to graduate this fall.

Yet, since leaping into a Career Path Internship, Hart has had the opportunity to dip her toes in each department of Idaho Fish and Game and get a taste of what each one expects, as well as receive hands-on experience in a field she’s interested in pursuing.

“The internship program allowed me to get a jumpstart on my career and intern with Idaho Fish and Game in Pocatello…while still working on my degree,” she said. “I was also hired by IDFG during the summer months as a habitat technician. Since my internship has ended, I have continued to work with IDFG and now know exactly what my career goals are.”

Hart isn’t the only one who has found a successful job match or gained real-world experience in a field of interest. ISU’s Career Path Internship program maintains about 1,000 internships each year, giving students the opportunity to work with college departments and off-campus businesses while being paid.

“It’s designed to give our students real-world, hands-on experience in either their major or minor field of study and career path direction,” said Tatyana Van Etten, the off-campus CPI coordinator. “We’re just finishing up our 11th year of running the CPI program.”

Van Etten is working to expand the number of off-campus internships and explained that the program is always searching for businesses willing and eager to participate.

“We definitely have an emphasis right now moving forward to support more off-campus positions than we have in the past,” she said. “I feel like that’s a great way to give back to the community and to open a lot of doors to the students as well.”

As far as what businesses would be good candidates, Van Etten said “any and all,” so long as they have a physical business location and a place for the intern to work, and there is a direct mentorship between the off-campus organization and the student.

“Just so it’s a good learning environment for everyone,” she said.

Currently, she explained they are seeing a shortage of students participating in the program, and she hopes they are aware of the benefits of a Career Path Internship.

“We had a student that we set up with a CPI internship at a local vet clinic because she wanted to go into veterinary medicine, and she feels that was the reason she got into vet school, because she’d had that CPI internship with a local vet here,” she said. “We have several students each year that get hired on permanently with organizations that have hosted them as a CPI either just before getting hired or that they’ve worked for previously.”

The program is always expanding its diverse list of possible positions, from accounting to auditing to graphic design, among many others. One of their newest off-campus positions is a diesel tech CPI, which will start this summer.

“We are always looking to network with other organizations and other places that would be willing to support ISU students in different positions in the area,” Van Etten said.

For those curious students who may want to explore previous intern stories, the program’s website features CPI interns of the month, which elaborates on the students’ backgrounds and experiences they gained as an intern.

To learn more about the CPI program, contact 208-282-2380 or visit isu.edu/career/cpi-program. For on-campus questions, contact Emily Jahsman at jahsemil@isu.edu, and for off-campus questions, contact Van Etten at tatyanavanetten@isu.edu.