ILMA Compoundings - August 2019 - 29

science students, Kuthoore said. "The
co-ops include three to six rotations
in chemical engineering, mechanical
engineering and computer science," he
explained.
Boone said a summer internship at
Afton Chemical will give a student
exposure to the company's professional
work environment and provide a
learning experience where a student
can apply the knowledge that has been
gained in the classroom.
While providing an internship is
a positive experience, Decker said
American Oil has to be careful about
how many it offers and when, so the
company and its employees can devote
the appropriate amount of time to the
students. American Oil typically offers
two internships a year, Decker said.

Understanding
Expectations
Internships usually run one semester,
which is about three months, in
summer, spring or fall, Jackson said.
"Credit is not usually required for an
intern, especially in engineering and
science majors. However, there are
more involved co-op programs that do
require more cooperation between the
university and company," he said.
Decker said the internships he has
offered require very little paperwork.
"I feel like they don't want to burden
anybody," he said.
Boone said NewMarket Corp. isn't
required to fill out paperwork, but

"We have hired on former
interns and co-ops as we
see them in action, which
provides more insight
into skills and behaviors."
- Ramnath Kuthoore, general
manager, North America sales,
Lubrizol Additives

some interns may get class credit for
their internship. "In these cases, we
fill out the appropriate paperwork,"
he said.
Most NewMarket Corp. internships
last eight to 12 weeks during the summer, and the company also has co-op
students who work 15 to 20 hours a
week during the school year, Boone
said. "We identify candidates via
university relations, employee referrals
and job postings," he said.
At American Oil, some interns get
a stipend while others are paid hourly
depending on how many hours they
work. "There are some legal issues to
look at with minimum wage laws,"
Decker advised.

Providing Hands-On
Learning
Jackson said students hope that an
employer will mentor them in useful
tasks that allow them to learn valuable
business or technical aspects of the
industry. "They hope that an employer
will trust them with responsibility,"
he said.
ILMA members agreed that the
most significant benefit to the interns
is real-world experience. "They are
typically given assignments and
required to report out at the end of
the internship on results and impact
to the organization," Kuthoore said.
"If they hire into Lubrizol, they
know the organization and have already
decided it is a place they would like

to work," Kuthoore said, adding that
Lubrizol has asked students to stay on
after the internship. "We have hired
on former interns and co-ops as we see
them in action, which provides more
insight into skills and behaviors."
For Dunne, an internship helped
him improve his interpersonal skills.
"Being included in strategic meetings,
being exposed to different forms
of negotiating and having to make
decisions were some things we were
taught and practiced in school, but it
was a whole different experience when
you're involved firsthand," he said.
Jackson said internships allow
companies to get a head start on
sharing the company- or industryspecific knowledge that the intern
might not have learned from the
academic curriculum. "It also allows
both the employer and the intern to
decide if the industry or position is a
good fit for both," he said.
Dunne said that an intern may
have the qualifications a company is
looking for in a particular aspect of
a position, but a manager needs to
know that person is malleable enough
to tackle a problem that might pop up
unexpectedly. Managers also want to
see that the intern can handle himself
or herself professionally in a variety of
situations, such as on the telephone,
in meetings and when working on
multi-team projects.
The most important thing for companies offering an internship program
is to ensure it meets the needs of both
sides. "As a provider, you have to work
at it," Decker said. "You have to create
a good atmosphere."
Long is a freelance writer and journalist.
She can be reached at 925-750-7163 or
mindy@mindylong.com.

29
ILMA Compoundings - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - August 2019
