Internships
Future Focused
Feeding the future is our mission and through our internship program, we continue to do just that by investing in the future of our industry. The program is designed to give students hands-on experiences while utilizing the skills they have gained through their college education.
Opportunity Awaits
Find your place in the process at North America’s largest vital wheat gluten production facility. From milling to lab testing to protein extraction and ethanol production, our interns are exposed to real-world scenarios in various departments.
Meet our 2024 Summer Intern:
Ben Klinkerman
Title: Operations Intern
Report to: Jeremy Gray, Mill Superintendent
School: Kansas State University
Start Date: 05/28/24
What are you most excited for?
“I am most excited for the opportunity to experience working in a mill with new state-of-the-art equipment. I think getting to see both sides of how older equipment and newer equipment works will be beneficial for my future.” – Ben
What do you hope to gain from this internship?
“During my time here, I hope to gain a better perspective on problem solving and troubleshooting as well as learning better leadership skills so that I can be impactful in many ways in my future career.” – Ben
“I am very excited for Ben to be with us this summer because he can get involved in all the operations of the facility now that we are up and running. His biggest project will help us better understand the mills performance and load balance so we can better optimize it moving forward. He has already jumped in with both feet learning how the mill operates from the millers directly as well as the management team so there is no shortage of activities for him to be involved in the rest of the summer.”
– Jeremy Gray, Mill Superintendent
Meet our 2023 Summer Interns and hear from their supervisors for an inside look at our internship program:
Chance Gilpin
Title: Mill Intern
Report to: Jeremy Gray, Mill Superintendent
School: Kansas State University
Start Date: 05/19/23
“I am excited to be a part of and help with the startup of this new mill, as it is not a very common thing that happens. I am also looking forward to meeting the team and getting to know them while gaining more advice and knowledge from them.” – Chance
Camden Kirmer
Title: Mill Intern
Report to: Jeremy Gray, Mill Superintendent
School: Kansas State University
Start Date: 05/19/23
“I am excited to see the process of starting up a brand-new mill. It will be fun to be a part of a special group that gets the opportunity of a lifetime.” – Camden
“Chance and Camden just finished their 2nd year at K-State in the Milling Science and Management program. I have several projects they will be working on this summer focused on helping their understanding of the facility and the milling process. The work they are doing will also be helping Amber Wave as we start-up the facility. The projects include:
- Tracing and labeling of all the spout work in the mill
- Writing sanitation programs for the operators to follow after start up
- Assisting with operator training
Besides their projects they will be spending time in the other various departments on site to get a better understanding of the gluten extraction and ethanol production process.
This is my third summer working with K-State milling interns, and it is always a very fun program to be involved in as I get to teach them skills and knowledge they can hopefully use for the rest of their career. Because we are a brand-new company and facility, we have a unique challenge for the summer as most of their peers’ internships will be in operational mills. With that challenge they also get the unique opportunity to see and help with the commissioning process it takes to get a place like this running. They are also getting to see a new and exciting process of gluten extraction only done at a few facilities in the whole country. I am extremely excited for their summer and the experiences they will be able to brag about back at school next fall.”
– Jeremy Gray, Mill Superintendent
Monica Hammeke
Title: Mill & Lab Intern
Report to: Baily Black, QA Laboratory Manager
School: Kansas State University
Start Date: 05/19/23
“I am excited to get to see the startup of a new mill, as well as the opportunity to work with the gluten extraction process.” – Monica
“We are excited to have Monica this summer. As construction progresses and we move closer to commissioning, she will be involved with analyzer trainings, protocol development, product optimization testing and more. Being a part of a brand-new facility, I believe will be a unique perspective as an internship for her and provide valuable experiences for her education.”
– Baily Black, QA Laboratory Manager
Maggie James
Title: Communications Intern
Report to: Ryan Hemingson, Vice President of Sales
School: Kansas State University
Start Date: 05/19/23
“Already being a part of company history has been an exciting experience. I can’t wait to watch Amber Wave continue to hit big milestones and help communicate those as we get closer to being fully operational. From taking pictures to communicating with local media to research and planning events, this internship has already exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to the rest of the summer.” – Maggie
“We are very excited to have Maggie join Amber Wave this summer. We will utilize her skillset in Marketing and Communications both internally and externally. Some projects that Maggie will be working on this summer include:
- Developing a monthly internal newsletter that highlights what is happening at Amber Wave
- Creating marketing materials that we will share with potential customers
- Updating our website to include more information about the products we will soon begin producing
- Assisting in our efforts on various social media platforms
- Engaging with local growers during wheat harvest to tell them about Amber Wave and show our appreciation for what they do and the products they produce
- Developing an advertisement and press release for the startup of our plant this summer
- Researching competitors and providing a competitive analysis of the food products we will be producing.”
– Ryan Hemingson, Vice President of Sales
Based in Phillipsburg, KS, our interns can spend their weekends at the 9-hole golf course located across the road from our facility and end their summer by attending Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo.
We are happy to help students gain real-world experiences, while they earn college credit. Check back in the Fall to apply for Summer 2024!