Each year, MMPA welcomes a group of interns who bring fresh perspectives, energy and a passion for their work. Whether they’re gaining experience in quality assurance, field services or accounting, these students play an important role in helping us serve our members and carry out our mission. Their time with MMPA is more than just a summer job, it’s a chance to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings, explore potential career paths in agriculture and connect with cooperative members and staff. In the following profiles, meet the talented interns who are making a difference at MMPA this summer.
Jack Holland
Northville, Michigan
Internship: Accounting Internship
College: Michigan State University
Year In School: Completed Junior Year
Major: Accounting
Dream Job: Professional Poker Player
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
While I didn’t have prior work experience in accounting, my academic background prepared me for this internship. Through courses like Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, and an introduction to Microsoft Excel, I developed a foundation in accounting principles and learned how to apply them in real scenarios.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in public accounting, specifically in audit. This internship has been a perfect fit for my career goals, as it provided experience in the field and allowed me to apply the concepts I’ve learned in the classroom to real scenarios. I’ve developed a range of technical accounting skills and improved my attention to detail. These experiences have not only reinforced my interest in accounting but also equipped me with the foundational tools I need to succeed in the profession.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
One of my favorite things about working in the dairy industry is product diversification. Prior to my first day, I assumed MMPA only dealt with milk, so discovering how all the various products are made was interesting. Learning how multiple ingredients and plants interact with each other was something completely new to me. Having the opportunity to visit both the farms and the plants offered a fascinating, behind the scenes look at the operation.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experience working as an intern was interacting with all the fantastic people of MMPA. I looked forward to coming into work, knowing I was going to have the chance to learn from a great team. Getting answers to my questions from Jeannie Strain and Therese Tierney—from work details to career advice—proved to be so valuable.
Suchismita Roy
Farakka, India
Internship: Quality Intern
College: University of Minnesota
Year in School: 4th Year PhD Candidate
Major: Food Science
Dream Job: Working in R&D for dairy ingredients
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
I have undergraduate and master’s degrees in dairy processing which enabled me to understand the operation of the dairy plants. I work as a graduate research assistant for the Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center at the University of Minnesota. My PhD thesis is based on modification of whey protein to improve their functionality. All these experiences have improved my knowledge of dairy science and manufacturing and prepared me for getting a hands-on experience during this internship.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
During my PhD I have been working in the lab scale and pilot scale production. Most of my research is done in the lab and in a very small scale. I wanted hands-on experience in a larger manufacturing unit. MMPA has given me the opportunity to learn and work directly with the production team. This experience will give me the opportunity to apply my theoretical knowledge in a larger scale production.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
The dairy industry is catering to the nutritional needs of the population including infants and elderly. I am pretty fascinated by the way a simple ingredient milk is converted to a variety of products and ingredients. I like the collective effort of dairy farmers, manufacturers, scientists and academia in the dairy field behind feeding the population and would like to be a part of it in the future.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experience at MMPA is that people are so passionate about their work and are ready to answer any questions I have. All the employees are approachable and open to discussion about further improvements.
Mason Hargreaves
Brighton, Michigan
Internship: IT Intern
College: Eastern Michigan University
Year in School: 4th year
Major: Cyber Security
Dream Job: Bilingual Cyber Security speaking Japanese
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
I’ve worked another internship, prior to this one – I had the wonderful opportunity to do a summer internship at my high school in Brighton, which allowed me to learn the fundamentals of how to work a job in IT. It taught me basic troubleshooting, how to deal with people and how to set machines up. It was a really fun experience and solidified my aspirations of working in IT.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
This internship is an absolutely excellent fit for my future career goals. Not only did it solidify my knowledge and give me more confidence in the field, it also has improved my skills in such a short time that absolutely can’t be replicated by just going to school and taking classes. It has also inspired me to work on some IT certifications, which I am pursuing at this time.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
To be honest, I find the process itself very interesting – the dairy processing, and the milk transportation. Some of it goes over my head (like the specifics behind the milk testing) but overall, I find the process to be very cool and interesting to watch it all come together.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experience is honestly just the day-to-day. Everyone on the team is extremely fun to work with, and it’s reassuring to know that they are behind me because I can often pick their brains about some problem I’m struggling with – that’s what I like so much about it. This day-to-day experience has been a complete blast and I’m so grateful for the experience.
Andrew Caldemeyer
Evansville, Indiana
Internship: Food Systems Fellowship
College: MSU-College of Veterinary Medicine
Year in School: Rising 2nd Year
Major: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Dream Job: Large/Food Animal Veterinarian
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
I showed several species of animals throughout my time in 4-H, and I would always investigate industry standards and requirements in order to ensure the highest level of productivity and wellbeing of our animals to increase my level of stockmanship and showmanship. This internship is allowing me to do the same thing for dairy herds in order to inform farmers of the best management protocols they need to utilize on their farms.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
I aspire to be a large animal veterinarian, and my dairy experience before this internship was limited. Having the opportunity to immerse myself in the dairy industry this summer will give me great insights into the motivations and challenges of the dairy producers that will one day be my clients as I work to help them meet their production and animal health needs.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
I like how connected the whole dairy industry is. Aside from the MMPA Field Representatives I have been working with, I have had the opportunity to network with and learn from milk haulers, MDARD staff, laboratory professionals, quality assurance professionals, bovine veterinarians, dairy producers and so many others.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experience so far has been doing herd health tests during morning milkings and learning every single name of each cow that passed through the parlor all while collecting samples to help drive improvement of milk quality for dedicated dairy farmers.
This article was originally published in the July/August 2025 issue of the Milk Messenger. Subscribe »