Fruitful labours: ALES Mini-Internship celebrates 1,000 student participants

ALES student and Mini-Internship participant Annalise Steadman (Photo: Shelbourne Community Kitchen Society)

“You can do it.”

With those four words, Annalise Steadman felt a rush of unexpected emotion. She was speaking with Jim Gowans, a B.C.-based farmer, and he was encouraging her to reconsider farming in her home community on Vancouver Island — a dream she had come to believe was unrealistic.

“[Jim] told me about all these great resources and ideas,” says Steadman, a third-year student in agricultural business management at the University of Alberta. “It opened a door I thought was closed.”

This memorable conversation capped off Steadman’s ALES Mini-Internship this fall — a program that pairs students from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (ALES) with industry mentors for three days of unpaid work experience over fall and winter reading breaks. 

The program recently surpassed 1,000 student participants – something that was only possible because of donors. 

Every year, donors cover the cost of essential travel and personal protective equipment for these mini-internships. This creates opportunities for students to develop practical skills, build industry connections and test out their dream careers in diverse fields — from forestry to crop science to animal agriculture.

Donor support of the ALES Mini-Internship Program creates a pathway for students, especially those from urban backgrounds, to explore agricultural careers through hands-on internships that would be challenging to access otherwise. The program's ability to connect students with meaningful opportunities hinges on this vital support from its donors, enabling moments of discovery and professional insight.

“What I really like about the program is seeing a light bulb go on in students when they realize they’re in the right place,” says Frank Robinson, the program’s creator and a retired ALES professor. “Students are very appreciative of the fact that they get to do these things at very little cost.”

The mini-internship is just one example of donor-funded experiential learning at the U of A. The university is working to support even more hands-on experiences through Shape the Future, a fundraising campaign that also aims to enhance learning environments and provide more scholarships, awards and bursaries. By supporting the campaign, donors can help open doors for students to become leaders, innovators and change makers.

Facing food insecurity

During her internship at the Gowans’ farm Omnivore Acres and Shelbourne Community Kitchen in Saanich, B.C., Steadman picked fresh vegetables, sorted food donations and witnessed just what goes into running a neighbourhood food centre.

“[The internship] bridges that gap between what you learn in textbooks and how you can apply it in the real world,” says Steadman, who has completed two other ALES mini-internships in poultry nutrition and chicken farming.

In class, Steadman and her peers study the implications of a rising world population and the challenge this poses to food security. During her internship, she saw how farmers and community kitchens can work together to decrease waste and provide fresh ingredients to people struggling to afford food.

“This is a great way to invest in the future,” says Steadman. “It’s essential that we get this opportunity to learn and grow. My mini-internships are the highlights of my university career.”

A natural next step

Like Steadman, ALES student Carter Dueck found the program essential for evaluating and validating his vocational goals. This fall, he spent three days at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, riding along with park rangers as they surveyed recreation trails and addressed questions from local hunters. He even chipped in with the maintenance crew, delivering firewood to campsites, mending broken fences and trying his hand at welding.

It was a full-circle moment for the U of A conservation biology student, who grew up hiking in Cooking-Lake Blackfoot with his dad. Whenever he encountered a park ranger, 10-year-old Dueck would ambush them with keen questions about nature and animals.

“Park rangers are what made me care about the wilderness,” says Dueck, who is in his third year. “Seeing what they do day-to-day makes me realize how important this is, and that this is what I want to do.”

The internship also allowed Dueck to build industry connections — something he finds particularly helpful as a first-generation university student. This summer, he plans to lean on the relationships he built to secure a job as a park interpreter and share his passion for conservation with children and youth. “It's important that future generations grow up loving the outdoors as well.”

The internship also allowed Dueck to build industry connections — something he finds particularly helpful as a first-generation university student. This summer, he plans to lean on the relationships he built to secure a job as a park interpreter and share his passion for conservation with children and youth. “It's important that future generations grow up loving the outdoors as well.”

By supporting the ALES mini-internship, and other experiential learning opportunities through Shape the Future, donors are not only helping students prepare for the workforce, but inspiring Canada’s next farmers, foresters and environmental scientists to build a more equitable and sustainable future.

“This would not be possible without the generosity of donors. Speaking on behalf of myself and many other students, we really value the opportunity,” says Steadman. “So many of us hope that one day in the future, we can also give back.”