Summer Interns Return to The Hormel Institute

12 College Undergraduate Students join research labs for 10 weeks

AUSTIN, Minn. – The Hormel Institute is excited to welcome the 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) interns, who started their internships on Monday. The college students will work with scientists at The Hormel Institute on cancer research or technology projects to expand their knowledge of basic research, as well as learn about equipment and techniques that are generally not available in undergraduate academic programs.

“It’s fantastic to have all this young talent join us this summer. We’re going to give them an informative experience. They’re going to learn a lot of different things, they’re going to use equipment they’ve only heard about, they’re going to do cutting-edge, scientific procedures,” said Dr. James Robinson, Assistant Professor and leader of the Cell Signaling & Tumorigenesis lab.

Students are selected for the SURE Internship based on their high level of academic achievement, recommendations from academic leaders, their college majors and plans to pursue careers in science-related fields.

“I grew up in Austin and I’ve been on tours of The Hormel Institute when I was in high school and I thought it was fascinating,” said Sydney Marsh, a SURE intern attending Carleton College in Northfield who plans to pursue medical school and possible Ph.D. program.

“I knew I wanted to go into biology and that’s what I’m majoring in, so I’m very excited to be able to come back and learn from the people who first inspired me.”

Students must submit their applications for the SURE Internship by March 1 of each year. The majority of the SURE interns attend regional colleges and universities, but some attend prestigious colleges around the country, including this year a student from Vassar College.

“In high school, I participated in a career immersion program at Mayo Clinic and I got really interested in pathology and in college I decided on a major in microbiology. I was looking for internships and this one seems amazing,” said SURE Intern Madison Arndt, who is majoring in Microbiology at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.

The SURE Internship program is possible thanks to generous donations. The program was started after former faculty member Orville S. Privett’s wife, Arlene, established the Privett Memorial Fund in 1994 to support college students’ research at The Hormel Institute.