Institute endows $2 million for student internships

Internships offer students valuable, real-world experience and skills they will need to pursue and advance in their future careers.

Thanks to two new funds endowed at Virginia Tech by the Public Service Education Institute, many students across the university, and particularly in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will have the support to explore a wide array of internship opportunities.

Support from the Public Service Education Institute College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Internship Endowment will go toward students in that college, while support from the Public Service Education Institute Virginia Tech Internship Endowment will go toward students from a wide range of programs. 

Each endowment was created with a $1 million commitment, with both types of support intended for students who have secured internships with a government agency at the federal, state, or local level, including Virginia Cooperative Extension.

“We are grateful for the support of the Public Service Education Institute for this tremendous gift that will impact the lives of Virginia Tech and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students for years to come,” said Alan Grant, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Internships and the valuable skills they impart set students up for success in their future careers.”

The Public Service Education Institute was created out of Graduate School, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored program that offered continuing education to its employees. Established in 1921, the program served hundreds of thousands of government employees over the years and consisted of more than 200 courses, ranging from foreign languages, to accounting, to photography.

The Graduate School evolved, and in 2008 it became a nonprofit organization called Graduate School USA. Two years ago, it was sold to a private enterprise. Revenues and sales were retained, and the initiative was renamed the Public Service Education Institute to continue Graduate School’s legacy.

Merle Pierson is the president and chairman of the institute’s board of directors. He served as a professor of food microbiology and safety at Virginia Tech from 1970-2005 and headed the Department of Food Science and Technology from 1985-94. 

As a Hokie and member of the university’s agricultural community, Pierson knows firsthand that students at Virginia Tech can benefit from funding to prepare for their future careers without worrying about the financial obligations of travel and living expenses that are often associated with internships. He, along with the rest of the Public Service Education Institute’s board, decided to allocate funding to create the two endowments at Virginia Tech.

“Virginia Tech and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have a strong emphasis on the importance of student internships,” Pierson said. “Our goal is to help provide students with an experience in the government and to also provide the government with highly qualified individuals. And, not just at the federal government level. Students might secure an internship in state or local government. Hands on experience beyond the classroom provides much added value to education.”

By reducing cost as a barrier to many students pursuing internships, the Public Service Education Institute’s support aligns with a major strategic focus of the university, which in October announced Virginia Tech Advantage, a university-wide, multiyear commitment to offer a broad educational experience to undergraduate students from Virginia who have financial need.