Working as a summer intern for Indian Health Service branch at the Pierre District office in Pierre, South Dakota, Steven Tankersley, 20, learned the value of hard work and what it’s like to be a mechanical engineer.
With two main projects he had to accomplish with his team, Tankersley had to plan out and make sure they had undergone construction and inspection. He was to help put in a sewer line for an entire community, and work with them to fix their clogging problems.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it,” Tankersley said. “You don’t realize how or where water comes from.”
Every morning, Tankersley and the IHS team had to drive out to the Indian reservation they were working on. They would work outside in 90 degree weather until about mid-day and then would have to make the long hall back.
“The Indian reservation was owned by Sovereign Nations, and we had to go to them to get permission for whatever we were doing,” Tankersley said. “We had about 10-15 projects going on in a summer.”
The internship was paid, and covered room and board. Tankersley found out about the internship opportunity through a family friend who worked for IHS in college. It just so happened a spot opened up for IHS in South Dakota, and next thing he knew he was making the long two day drive from Tennessee up there.
“This was my first time in South Dakota,” Tankersley said. “I was able to travel to Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, and we went camping too. South Dakota was pretty with lots of things to do, and had a great outdoors.”
The IHS branch works with anything from energy, economics and supply chain management. They provide internships all over the United States, and employ more than 8,000 people in 31 countries worldwide.
“For engineering students, they have less people apply,” Tankersley said. “So it’s pretty easy to get an internship there. I got this one in South Dakota, then the IHS in Minnesota called to offer me an internship, but I had already accepted the other one.”
Tankersley said he got the chance to work with locals and get hands on experience with engineering.
“It’s so much easier working on stuff in the classroom in college,” Tankersley said. “Going out and doing actual things in this field is a lot harder. It was a really great experience.”
Tankersley said he even plans on reapplying for another internship with IHS this summer, and hopes to travel to somewhere different this time. Before the internship this past summer, South Dakota was never even on his radar.
“There were no dislikes working with IHS this summer,” Tankersley said. “I would love to reapply and go somewhere new next summer.”
