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.
Sarah Azeez
Northville, Michigan
Internship: Quality Assurance Internship
College: Michigan State University
Year In School: Spring 2026 Graduated Senior
Major: Animal Science
Dream Job: A role that combines both quality assurance and laboratory work, such as USDA Food Safety Inspector or Food Safety Auditor within the dairy industry.
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
Prior to my internship, I worked at the Michigan State University Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Facility Center, where I gained hands-on experience with dairy operations, animal care, sanitation practices, and attention to detail. I also brought a strong science background through coursework in biology, chemistry, and microbiology, which helped me understand many of the quality and food safety concepts used in the plant.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
This internship helped me discover a strong interest in food science, quality assurance, and food safety. Learning about audits, testing procedures, regulatory standards, and product quality has shown me how I can apply my science background in the dairy industry and pursue a career focused on ensuring safe, high-quality food products.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
What I enjoy most is the people. Everyone I have met has been incredibly welcoming, patient, and willing to teach. I have been encouraged to ask questions, and people have taken the time to explain processes and share their knowledge, which has made learning both enjoyable and rewarding.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite part of the internship has been the people and the opportunity to learn from them every day. The team has been supportive, kind, and eager to help me grow professionally. Being able to apply what I’ve learned in biology, chemistry, microbiology, and dairy science to real-world quality assurance work has made the experience especially meaningful.
Eli Jackson
Grayling, Michigan
Internship: Food Systems Fellowship
College: Michigan State College of Veterinary Medicine
Year in School: 2nd Year
Major: DVM
Dream Job: Veterinarian
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
The Food Animal Club at Michigan State College of Veterinary Medicine put on many events for students that helped me get my feet wet for my internship. They held lectures by Dr. Roger Thompson which went over milk parlor management, and other basic facets of the dairy industry.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
My internship experience greatly advanced my knowledge of the dairy industry. With my future career goal of becoming a veterinarian, understanding the big picture of the industry is a valuable resource when communicating with farmers. I spent much of my time with co-op staff and farm staff all over the state. I have seen what is important to farmers and how the co-op is there to assist. Overall, this experience has given me the real-world education that I can apply when assessing dairy medicine cases.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
I most enjoyed getting to talk with farmers and getting to look at their facilities. Dairy farmers across the state are one of a kind and I wish more people knew how hard they worked to provide safe, top-notch nutrition to their communities.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experience working as an MMPA intern was completing FARM evaluations. This gave me great insight into how much farmers care about their cows, facilities and procedures.
Michael Peterson
Elkhart, Indiana
Internship: CMMS
College: Valparaiso University
Year in School: Sophomore
Major: Mechanical Engineering and Economics
Dream Job: Propulsion engineer at NASA
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
This internship, in many ways, is a natural progression of the previous opportunities shaping my career path. Before this internship I had the privilege to intern for the City of Elkhart’s Engineering Department. While these two positions may seem incongruous the technical skills I learned along with the amazing support I was given allowed me to feel confident and comfortable moving to this position.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
In terms of career goals, my primary goal is always flexibility and understanding. At this point in my journey I can imagine a variety of different paths in my future. This experience allows me to understand an industry and help better determine where I can make an impact.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
So far, my favorite part of working in the dairy industry is working behind the scenes to create impact. Dairy impacts so much of our lives and getting to be a part of that impact is truly incredible.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite part of working as an intern has been the atmosphere of working in the plant and the various learning opportunities I’ve already been given regarding plant operations.
Elita You
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Internship: Finance/Accounting
College: Yale University
Year in School: Rising Sophomore
Major: Economics and Math
Dream Job: FP&A Analyst
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
My coursework at Yale and involvement in student organizations helped prepare me for my internship at MMPA. Through finance and consulting projects, I developed quantitative and problem solving skills which I’ve been able to capitalize on in this internship. Furthermore, my experiences teaching and tutoring math taught me communicate more effectively and better adapt to new challenges.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
I am interested in pursuing a career in finance, and my internship at MMPA gave me valuable exposure to the accounting and financial processes that support a large organization. Understanding how financial information is recorded, reconciled, and utilized will provide a strong foundation for future roles in finance. This experience improved my analytical thinking, quantitative skills, and knowledge of the accounting industry, which will certainly be valuable throughout my career.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
One of my favorite aspects about the dairy industry is the size and complexity of the process from farmer to the grocery store. Prior to this internship, I did not realize how many moving parts are involved and how accounting supports and interacts with each of them. Because of this, I have had the opportunity to explore different aspects of accounting, such as invoicing, account reconciliation, and inventory. Furthermore, seeing how all these pieces come together to benefit the cooperative and its members has been insightful and rewarding.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experiences have been learning more about dairy from a financial perspective as well as the Dairy Month celebrations. My supervisor, Will Pekarek, gave me a presentation on the dairy industry and how prices are determined for the various classes, which I found to be especially interesting and useful. In addition, the Dairy Month celebrations have given me the opportunity to connect with my coworkers and enjoy various types of dairy.
Emmanuel Kalejaye
Canton, Michigan
Internship: IT Intern
College: Eastern Michigan University
Year in School: 2026 Graduate
Major: Information Technology
Dream Job: Network Engineer / Desktop Support Specialist
What previous experience did you have that helped prepare you for your internship?
My experience at Eastern Michigan University helped build a strong foundation in IT through coursework, labs, and hands-on projects. I also spent a lot of time troubleshooting technology and learning about networking, systems, and end-user support. Those experiences helped me become comfortable solving technical problems and prepared me to step into a professional IT environment.
How did this MMPA internship experience fit into your future career goals?
This internship has been a great opportunity to gain real-world IT experience and see how technology supports a large organization. My long-term goal is to work in network engineering while continuing to develop my skills in desktop support and user services. Being able to learn from experienced professionals and work with the technologies used in a business setting has given me valuable insight into the career path I want to pursue.
What do you like most about working in the dairy industry?
What I like most is learning about an industry that I did not know much about before joining MMPA. It’s interesting to see how technology plays an important role in supporting daily operations and helping different teams stay connected. I’ve also enjoyed learning more about the cooperative and how it supports dairy farmers across Michigan.
What was your favorite experience working as an MMPA intern?
My favorite experience so far has been visiting two different MMPA locations. It gave me the opportunity to see how operations can vary from site to site and how the IT team supports employees across multiple locations. Getting out into the field and seeing different environments first hand has been one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of my internship experience.
This article was originally published in the July/August 2026 issue of the Milk Messenger. Subscribe »