SURF interns use experience to launch amazing careers
America’s deep underground science laboratory is now taking applications for summer 2024 internships.
The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) has opened applications for its 2024 summer internships. Students can choose from a wide variety of paid internship experiences in everything from science to engineering and communications. The full list of openings can be found on SURF’s 2024 internship employment webpage.
Randi Seiwald spent the summer of 2017 as an intern at SURF. She graduated from South Dakota Mines as mining engineer and today she works for Dyno Nobel, a global leader in the commercial explosives industry.
“Being at SURF and going underground is a very unique experience. It's a place that so few people ever get exposure to. No one will be able to compare their work to SURF, because it’s a job site like nowhere else. It’s experience that stands out on a resume and in a job interview,” Seiwald said.
During her 2017 internship, Seiwald helped crews place steel reinforcement in the Ross Shaft. The experience expanded her understanding of the types of work available in her upcoming career as a mining engineer.
“Anytime you talk to somebody whose whole life has been in the career that you're in, you always learn something. At SURF I was surrounded by a crew of professionals who have been doing work in this place for years, sometimes following their fathers and grandfathers. It was just such privilege to be immersed in that wealth of knowledge,” Seiwald said.
“No one will be able to compare their work to SURF, because it’s a job site like nowhere else.”
The experience during her summer internship also helped her connect her coursework in engineering with real-life experience. “I did many of my underground base classes in mining engineering during my junior year—after my internship at SURF. So, it was cool, being able to put words to things in class I had seen at SURF. It helped me understand what I was seeing in class mattered and why it was important.”
Many SURF interns, whether in engineering, communications, or other fields, found their summertime work experience enhanced their college education and future career opportunities. Students interested in internships at SURF can find more information on all 2024 internship openings here.