Internship Opportunities at Avera McKennan

Avera McKennan offers a variety of internship opportunities for students in the medical, administration and nursing fields. Read below or call us to learn more.

For more information on internship opportunities please call (605) 322-7850.

Internship Experience Leads to Job Opportunity

A summer internship in the Human Resources Department led to a full-time position at Avera McKennan for Ryan Olivier in his chosen field - just days after his college graduation.

Ryan graduated from Washington High School in Sioux Falls in 2004, and headed off to Minnesota State University in Mankato where he majored in human resource management and business management.

In the summer of 2008, he came back to his home town for an internship in the HR Department at Avera McKennan. He was assigned more than "busy work" tasks an intern might expect. "I started by calling references and verifying employment, but then I got to the point of actually doing employment interviews and helping departments at Avera McKennan make hiring decisions," Ryan said.

Seeing concepts learned in the classroom play out in the work setting is a key benefit of an internship. "It's one thing to learn something in a book, and another thing to experience it day to day. It was great to put the two pieces together," Ryan said. "Plus, I really liked the people I worked with. They were friendly, helpful and would go out of their way to explain things and help me feel involved."

Just prior to graduating from Minnesota State in December 2008, Ryan noticed an online job posting for a position in the HR department at Avera McKennan, and immediately applied. He graduated Dec. 13, and started his new job as an HR payroll specialist on Dec. 15.