10/03/2026
Some insight on Internships
As most of you know we have intern opportunities here from time to time. It started by chance about 5 years ago…I did not set out to build an internship program. I already had my hands full but that never stopped the Lord from piling on a little more so I guess he had other plans for me. Eventually, I formalized it because it was another opportunity to deliver training through experience with the benefit of immediate feedback. Intern focus is not on learning a lot of essential tasks packed into 5 or 6 days as in a course but instead, learning comprehensively at a slower pace over a long period of time. This is clearly a better opportunity for experience to gain a wider and more broad foundation of skills. Interns are not paying me or our business… they are learning small tasks and building a foundation in a skills-progressive approach intended to develop them incrementally, step by step through practical experience and active feedback.
It takes a lot of extra effort and sacrifice to even be able to do it because in addition to teaching courses every week here and trying to manage commercial work, I have to make time to give direction, oversight and feedback to any interns we may have. It is time consuming and sometimes expensive because we have to purchase materials which often are subject to trial and error in training...mistakes are made and they come with a price tag that the business has to pay. I accept that because it is part of learning. It may not always be comfortable to be an intern. Aside from my apparently persistent RBF, there is the occasional physical discomfort, as in hot or cold, dusty, dirty and yucky. Then there is a mental element that requires stamina and endurance. There is a measure of professional growth that must evolve in some to understand that feedback is not a negative and I am not the enemy for being the one that has to deliver it. It takes maturity and hard work and requires a dedicated, responsible person that can handle a professional commitment with a realistic dose of constructive criticism.. It requires a strong sense or team work and loyalty. In the process we may even identify a future employee through our internships which would be a bonus. But it is not why I do it. I do it because I love helping anyone get to where they want to be and I cherish the sense of family we build in the process…Frankly, at this point I think I would be lost without it. It is an investment in to people whether their efforts and growth ultimately benefit our business or not. It benefits them and it benefits the industry.  Even more so, as I've said many times before, Taxidermy is just a vehicle. If we can use it to help someone become a better more educated version of themselves then it is a great success. That's what I would want the Legacy to be... that it helped someone and made them better.
Day to day, Interns work with us with what we take in from the public and are assigned work based on the capabilities they have built. So eventually they are able to make a contribution to the business in exchange for the education and mentorship they are receiving. Eventually, I want interns to compete and I push it hard…there are not many places to get that opportunity with an advantage of a dedicated direct mentor. This is an even greater investment of time and effort on their part… and mine. I have always been willing to be there every step of the way and I ask of them nothing in return but dedication, an open, receptive mind and humility (remember where you came from).
Internships are sometimes short term (meaning a few weeks) to long term which is as much as 2 years. I know a few folks who started their careers in Taxidermy through internship here and some who interned after completing courses. There are no special requirements to be an intern here…they are open to anyone assuming we have a slot. Some are selected through formal application and some by invitation. In all cases it has to be practical and in most cases local because there is a minimum commitment of time involved per week or per month. This is established on case by case basis, but typically 12 hours per week. Interns might be in another career full or part time, a parent, a college student or a high schooler…we have had all of the above.
So I hope this clears up any questions about internships here. I get questions a lot and maybe there have been some misconceptions about the intent or how we conduct it. If you think you would like to intern and could meet the minimum weekly commitment of time we will at some point be posting the application link again.
