The Food Innovation Center (FIC), a unit of Rutgers New
Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in Bridgeton,
has provided its first class of student interns from Bridgeton
and Woodstown High Schools with a unique hands-on
learning experience in FIC’s state-of-the-art food business incubation
facility.
“Providing experiential learning opportunities to community residents, as well as workforce development training, are key to the mission of the Food Innovation Center,” said Lou Cooperhouse, director of the FIC. The student internship program provides a select group of qualified students with an exciting opportunity to gain practical experience in areas as diverse as business plan development, market research, economic analysis, food science, food quality and safety assurance, package engineering and industrial and process engineering. Students shadow FIC staff and are given opportunities to learn about their particular areas of career interest.
This past semester, the FIC welcomed its first class of five interns. Tiffany Asher, a senior at Woodstown High, spent 10 hours a week at the center during the course of her administrative internship. She learned the basics of how an office is run and was responsible for helping to implement a new filing system and new inventory methods. After graduation, Asher plans to join the center staff over the summer as a part-time receptionist.
Emmitt Hitchner and Andres Hernandez, both in their junior year at Bridgeton High, spent four hours a month at the center for their marketing internships. The students worked together to finalize the details of several newly launched online business courses and created a database of organizations to market the courses. They also had the opportunity to sit in on a consultation with an international company. “I feel like I learned a lot about all the work that goes into marketing a product,” Hitchner said about the experience.
Ruben Reyes, another junior at Bridgeton High, put his computer and web design skills to good use during the course of his marketing internship. Reyes created new features that will shortly be a part of the FIC’s website. “This was my first real industry experience,” Reyes said. “I thought it was great that I got to put my talents to use and created something that will be a part of the website!”
Shane Sparks, a senior at Cumberland County Technical Education Center, spent seven hours a week at FIC during the course of his food plant operations internship. He worked to create test batches of a client’s product, received and checked ingredients and packaging materials and was able to sit in on the sourcing process for those ingredients. “I really enjoyed having a chance to work with all of the large-scale equipment in the production facility,” Sparks said.
Diane Holtaway, associate director of client services at FIC and one of the key staff members responsible for creating this internship program, noted that providing these types of learning experiences for students is an important aim of the center. “I learned very early in my career that relevant work experience is so critical to professional success. We are very pleased to be able to offer these outstanding opportunities to local students.”
The spring semester’s internship program closed on June 12 with a ceremony and completion certificates for all of the student participants. The program will resume in September. Both high schools have already presented the opportunity to next semester’s junior and senior students.
Cheryl Lowe, agricultural education and FFA advisor at Woodstown High School, was eager to sign students up for the program next semester. “We thought it was fantastic when the Food Innovation Center approached us about student internships at their facility. Being able to work beside industry experts in a field they’re interested in is such a wonderful opportunity to be able to offer our students.” Bill Waterman, school-to-career coordinator at Bridgeton High School, was equally enthusiastic: “This was a tremendous opportunity for the students from Bridgeton High School. Students were given real-life tasks in their chosen area of study. It tied in what they are learning in the classroom to the world of work. This was all accomplished in a very reputable and professional environment with mentors who are experts in their field. I am looking forward to continuing to work with the Rutgers University Food Innovation Center next year and in the future.”
In addition to providing these opportunities to high school students, FIC staff are developing internship opportunities for college students.
About Rutgers Food Innovation Center
The Rutgers Food Innovation Center is a unique business incubation and economic development accelerator program that provides business and technology expertise to small and mid-sized food and agribusinesses in New Jersey, and utilizes its outreach capacity to reach the food industry throughout the nation. Clients include farmers and cooperatives, startup food companies, existing small and mid-sized food establishments and retail and foodservice markets. The center’s new 23,000-sq.-ft. food incubator facility enables the marketing, development and distribution of new products for the center’s clients, and the evaluation of new technologies and processes. FIC is a research and extension center of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Further information can be found at www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu.
“Providing experiential learning opportunities to community residents, as well as workforce development training, are key to the mission of the Food Innovation Center,” said Lou Cooperhouse, director of the FIC. The student internship program provides a select group of qualified students with an exciting opportunity to gain practical experience in areas as diverse as business plan development, market research, economic analysis, food science, food quality and safety assurance, package engineering and industrial and process engineering. Students shadow FIC staff and are given opportunities to learn about their particular areas of career interest.
This past semester, the FIC welcomed its first class of five interns. Tiffany Asher, a senior at Woodstown High, spent 10 hours a week at the center during the course of her administrative internship. She learned the basics of how an office is run and was responsible for helping to implement a new filing system and new inventory methods. After graduation, Asher plans to join the center staff over the summer as a part-time receptionist.
Emmitt Hitchner and Andres Hernandez, both in their junior year at Bridgeton High, spent four hours a month at the center for their marketing internships. The students worked together to finalize the details of several newly launched online business courses and created a database of organizations to market the courses. They also had the opportunity to sit in on a consultation with an international company. “I feel like I learned a lot about all the work that goes into marketing a product,” Hitchner said about the experience.
Ruben Reyes, another junior at Bridgeton High, put his computer and web design skills to good use during the course of his marketing internship. Reyes created new features that will shortly be a part of the FIC’s website. “This was my first real industry experience,” Reyes said. “I thought it was great that I got to put my talents to use and created something that will be a part of the website!”
Shane Sparks, a senior at Cumberland County Technical Education Center, spent seven hours a week at FIC during the course of his food plant operations internship. He worked to create test batches of a client’s product, received and checked ingredients and packaging materials and was able to sit in on the sourcing process for those ingredients. “I really enjoyed having a chance to work with all of the large-scale equipment in the production facility,” Sparks said.
Diane Holtaway, associate director of client services at FIC and one of the key staff members responsible for creating this internship program, noted that providing these types of learning experiences for students is an important aim of the center. “I learned very early in my career that relevant work experience is so critical to professional success. We are very pleased to be able to offer these outstanding opportunities to local students.”
The spring semester’s internship program closed on June 12 with a ceremony and completion certificates for all of the student participants. The program will resume in September. Both high schools have already presented the opportunity to next semester’s junior and senior students.
Cheryl Lowe, agricultural education and FFA advisor at Woodstown High School, was eager to sign students up for the program next semester. “We thought it was fantastic when the Food Innovation Center approached us about student internships at their facility. Being able to work beside industry experts in a field they’re interested in is such a wonderful opportunity to be able to offer our students.” Bill Waterman, school-to-career coordinator at Bridgeton High School, was equally enthusiastic: “This was a tremendous opportunity for the students from Bridgeton High School. Students were given real-life tasks in their chosen area of study. It tied in what they are learning in the classroom to the world of work. This was all accomplished in a very reputable and professional environment with mentors who are experts in their field. I am looking forward to continuing to work with the Rutgers University Food Innovation Center next year and in the future.”
In addition to providing these opportunities to high school students, FIC staff are developing internship opportunities for college students.
About Rutgers Food Innovation Center
The Rutgers Food Innovation Center is a unique business incubation and economic development accelerator program that provides business and technology expertise to small and mid-sized food and agribusinesses in New Jersey, and utilizes its outreach capacity to reach the food industry throughout the nation. Clients include farmers and cooperatives, startup food companies, existing small and mid-sized food establishments and retail and foodservice markets. The center’s new 23,000-sq.-ft. food incubator facility enables the marketing, development and distribution of new products for the center’s clients, and the evaluation of new technologies and processes. FIC is a research and extension center of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Further information can be found at www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu.
Media Contact: Diane Holtaway
856-459-1900, ext. 4514
E-mail: holtaway@njaes.rutgers.edu