SEA Students Begin Paid Internships

SEA students from across the Pine Belt and Gulf Coast began working in their paid summer internships on Monday, June 9, 2025, after a full week of interactive workforce training with IDS staff. A crucial component of the Summer Enrichment Academy is that students gain valuable real-world work experience – and earn money doing it!

Each year, IDS staff get to know SEA students and their interests, then match them with a local business or USM host site that provides an inclusive workplace for students to level up their career readiness skills. This year, SEA students are working in a variety of fields including office administration, technology, animal care, education, food service, and many others. IDS is proud to work alongside our various business partners including, but not limited to, Traintastic, 34th Street Wholistic Garden, Flower Patch Florist and Sweet Tooth Bakery, USM Itech, Subway at Seymour’s, Long Beach Senior and Activity Center, Goodwill, East Marion Elementary School, and the Humane Society of South Mississippi.

Throughout their summer internships, students are assigned an IDS job coach to administer on-site support and ensure accommodation is provided when necessary. Job coaches also walk students through properly submitting all documentation such as timesheets so that they receive their paychecks on time.

The Summer Enrichment Academy is made possible through a partnership with MDRS. For more information on SEA, contact Beth Robertson (Long Beach campus) at 228-214-3422 or beth.robertson@usm.edu, or Joseph King (Hattiesburg campus) at 601-266-4021 or joseph.a.king@usm.edu.