Inspiring Internships

Skills. Practice. Experience. You have to have it. Sometimes, a college diploma just isn’t enough.

As graduates start applying for a job, they may find that more companies are asking for at least two years of work experience for most entry-level positions. Work experience is becoming a requirement in most work places, and in college. What better way to gain experience than through internships?

The LSU College of Education Department of Kinesiology offers numerous diverse internships to all students in the many areas of kinesiology. From corporate wellness to nuclear medicine, Professor Lisa Johnson, internship coordinator, can find a perfect match for each individual student.

Internships are a key component of a college education where concepts from the classroom can be implemented in the work place and students can learn through practice by gaining experience. For many LSU kinesiology students, internships turn into jobs after graduation.

“I have hired almost every intern I’ve ever had,” says Shelly Beall, president and owner of SB Wellness Group, Inc., a corporate wellness company serving many companies throughout Baton Rouge, including The Shaw Group, BlueCross and BlueShield of Louisiana, and Louisiana Workers Compensation Company. Beall, an LSU alumna, has been taking interns from LSU for 10 years now, and she says that the “enthusiasm and background students come in with is great for her and them. It’s a win-win situation.” SB Wellness Group, Inc. interns have the opportunity to participate in every aspect of the company, learning as they go.

Lindsey Shehane, an LSU graduate in fitness studies and former intern of SB Wellness Group, Inc., is now currently employed by Shelly Beall. Shehane says that “Shelly makes the internship process easy. She keeps her professionalism while still being my friend and offering me career advice as well as personal advice.” While interning, Shehane didn’t know anything about corporate wellness and she learned right away that it is something she was very interested in. “This internship improved my communication skills, taught me a field of kinesiology I may have not known, and got me a job when I graduated!”

On another end of the large spectrum encompassed by kinesiology, there is Dexter Ray, an internship supervisor at Louisiana Cardiology Associates. “I hired my first intern about 15 years ago when an LSU student contacted me about an internship,” states Ray who has hired more than 15 interns since then.

A graduate from LA Tech in health science/nuclear medicine, he says that students make a staff sharper. Most students don’t know exactly what they want to do with their degree when they graduate, and internships are the best way to learn what you like and what you know you don’t. When in college, Ray had an internship at a local hospital, and while he was there, something peaked his interest and inspired him to go into nuclear medicine. It was because of his internship that he went back to school to pursue a degree in nuclear medicine.

When looking for new interns, Ray says that he looks for strong candidates with good personalities. Interns at Louisiana Cardiology Associates get valuable on-the-job training. Internships are available every semester.

Dexter Ray,
Louisiana Cardiology Associates

Shelly Beall,
SB Wellness Group, Inc.

Jolie Landry, an Kinesiology fitness studies graduate, started working at Louisiana Cardiology Associates immediately following graduation. After two years as an employee, she went back to school for nuclear medicine. Now, she continues to work for Dexter Ray saying he is “a great boss, with great character, and knows everything there is to know about this field.” Landry states that Ray “had a major impact on my career and influenced me to further my education.”

Fallon Prudhomme, LSU fitness studies graduate and employee of Ray, also commented on Ray’s knowledge of the field and his experience stating that “He knows everything! He is always there teaching you something new. He is a great friend and an amazing boss.” Prudhomme also interned with Shelly Beall at SB Wellness Group, Inc.

Interested in the highest level of personal training? Kolby Tullier brings a very unique internship to the table for LSU students. Tullier is the owner of Body Mechanics, a personal fitness business that is focused on health programs customized for each individual’s long term health benefit. He has been in business for six years now and internships were in his original business plan. “When I first sat down to make my business model, my goal was to make internships possible because that wasn’t an opportunity for me as a student,” says Tullier. He says that interns are like a “hiring pool” of future employees. He wants interns to come in and learn all of the factors that go into making a business work. Tullier says that his interns get a lot of experience and “If they are good, the possibilities are endless.”

Through these internships, as well as many others, the Department of Kinesiology continues to offer students opportunities to gain experience from committed internship supervision like Shelly Beall, Dexter Ray, and Kolby Tullier. Kinesiology students learn and grow through great internships with influential supervisors who impact students’ career choices and even their lives.