Last year, the IT group within the Division of Finance and Administration at Oregon State University developed an innovative internship program in partnership with Javier Calvo-Amodio, associate professor of industrial engineering.
The DFA IT Process Improvement Internship Program simultaneously helps the division improve efficiencies in its IT processes while providing valuable hands-on experience for industrial engineering students, said Jesse Mraz, business analyst and the internship program’s manager.
“Our interns support project teams by helping to determine process efficiency, contributing design ideas, developing current-state process-mapping, and assisting with documentation,” Mraz said. “The program’s success is due to the interest and enthusiasm from talented industrial engineering students, our synergistic relationship with Javier Calvo-Amodio and MIME, and the genuine desire of everyone involved to provide the best possible internship experience for our Beavers.”
Each intern is assigned a mentor from the DFA IT leadership team and a project buddy from the DFA IT staff. The mentors build a relationship with the interns and coach them in the areas they want to focus on developing. The project buddies invite each intern to shadow them on a project and help them identify areas where they can contribute to the team.
Calvo-Amodio says the program provides an invaluable opportunity for students.
“It not only gives them the opportunity to apply what they learn in their program, but it also exposes them to real-life problems, challenges them to learn new skills, and complements their technical expertise with excellent mentorship that is tailored to each intern,” he said. “From the initial conversations with DFA IT director Ben Wessel, through the development of the program with Jesse Mraz, we set out to create a professional internship program with strong educational and developmental components.”
Three industrial engineering students have participated so far. Jackson Currier graduated in March and has secured a position at Intel. Graduating senior Stella Collier, who completed her internship in April, will graduate this spring and has also secured employment post-graduation. Current intern Miguel Giacomossi Korbage will continue working with the program for the remainder of the current academic year and into the next.
“Working at DFA IT has provided a place where I could apply some of my coursework to develop real projects,” Korbage said. “This opportunity was especially meaningful because it was the first time I was able to use that specific knowledge and engineering mindset to solve real problems.”
The program is currently accepting applications for new interns in the 2025-26 academic year. Students majoring in or considering industrial engineering are encouraged to apply by May 16 at beav.es/dfa-it.
