By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Joee Lempke was introduced to interior design at an early age.
Her mother graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney program and currently works as a kitchen and bath designer at Adams Lumber Company. When Lempke was younger, she’d hang out at the office and tag along during site visits.
It didn’t take long for the Imperial native to become interested in the same career.
“I was immediately hooked because it’s a job where you get to be creative and curate spaces for clients,” Lempke said. “I am very passionate about making spaces that reflect the people who use them.”
She got a closer look at that career through an internship with Wilkins ADP in Kearney.
“My internship was extremely valuable,” said Lempke, a senior interior and product design major at UNK. “Nothing can prepare you for your career more than doing an internship, in my opinion. It gives you the chance to gain hands-on experience working among professionals.”
Lempke was one of 108 students from the UNK College of Business and Technology who completed internships this summer, gaining practical experience in their chosen fields while developing skills and professional relationships that can benefit them after graduation.
Internships are an important component of the college’s emphasis on experiential learning, offering students direct exposure to the professional world before they enter the workforce full time.
“Internships provide students with the opportunity to explore career paths, build confidence in their abilities and apply classroom learning to real-world challenges,” said Dustin Favinger, senior director of career development and graduate programs in the College of Business and Technology. “They also help students develop professional skills, expand their networks and significantly improve their career outcomes by making them more competitive for full-time employment after graduation.”
Those experiences frequently lead directly to jobs, with more than half of the college’s academic internships resulting in employment offers.
Favinger said these opportunities are supported by relationships the college and its students develop with employers throughout the year. Students build those connections through career fairs, employer engagement events, classroom guest speakers, case competitions, campus organizations and networking activities.
“The strongest internship experiences often begin with relationships that are built through these interactions, giving students a chance to learn about careers, demonstrate their interests and abilities and position themselves for meaningful opportunities,” Favinger said.
‘An Awesome Experience’
Lempke made one of those connections through a professor who shared contact information for Wilkins ADP, a commercial architecture and design firm. She also spoke with company employees at a UNK career fair before beginning the internship.
She spent the entire summer with the firm, from the end of the spring semester until classes resumed in August.
“Working at Wilkins was an awesome experience,” she said. “I was able to learn more about the design process, sit in on project meetings and ask so many questions about the profession.”
One project brought her experience full circle.
Lempke worked on a new grab-and-go coffee counter planned for the UNK library, creating concepts for an inviting, functional space that will house coffee and vending machines. She modeled and rendered designs that were shared with the client, then refined those concepts based on feedback before the project moved into production.
“There is an abundance of things I got to learn about the design world that I don’t think you could ever learn in any class,” Lempke said. “It teaches you to be professional, how to interact with clients and so much more.”
After graduating, she hopes to land a full-time interior design position and continue developing the passion that started with those visits to her mother’s workplace.
A Career Takes Shape
Senior construction management major Alex Munoz returned to Commonwealth Electric in Kearney this summer after completing his first internship with the company a year earlier.
The Santa Clarita, California, native initially connected with Commonwealth through UNK’s fall career fair.
As a project management intern, Munoz worked on a variety of projects, including the North Platte wastewater treatment plant, Thomas County Airport hangar and a new medical center in Grand Island. His responsibilities included creating submittals, performing quantity takeoff estimates and requesting quotes from suppliers.
“This experience was very valuable because it taught me what being in the construction management field is really like,” he said. “I was able to see the ins and outs of day-to-day tasks and apply what I learned in the classroom to hands-on work experience.”
The internship also helped Munoz narrow his career plans.
After graduation, he plans to move to Salt Lake City to be closer to home. He’s applying for positions with general contractors and electrical subcontractors, with the latter being a preference because of his experience at Commonwealth.
“I really enjoyed being with a subcontracting company and am prioritizing that career path,” he said.
Learning to Lead
For Hayley Dickey, an internship provided an opportunity to take on more responsibility at a familiar workplace.
A senior studying business administration with a management emphasis, she’s worked for Younes Hospitality since the beginning of her college career. Her regular position is front desk attendant at the Hampton Inn in Kearney, where she also has some weekend managerial shifts.
Her internship this summer put her in charge of the hotel multiple days each week. Dickey managed inventory and supply orders, helped prepare for a renovation that began in August and created daily housekeeping plans to ensure rooms were ready for guests.
More importantly, she learned how to handle challenges on her own.
“This internship was incredibly valuable as I was able to gain a lot more confidence in being independent, as I did not always have the opportunity to run to my supervisor if something had gone wrong,” she said.
That responsibility helped her strengthen managerial skills she doesn’t always get to develop in her regular position.
“This was my first internship, and I was incredibly lucky to have that opportunity with a company I already knew well,” Dickey said. “The people I work with at Younes Hospitality have been great mentors.”
A Houston native who also lived in the United Arab Emirates, Dickey plans to remain in the hospitality industry after graduating next spring.
“As unique as the hospitality industry is, it is an industry I can really see myself excelling in long term,” she said. “While I do not have a very concrete plan other than sticking in the hospitality industry, I look forward to seeing what opportunities come my way once I graduate.”
