Wabash to begin summer intern recruiting in September
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Lafayette-based manufacturer Wabash will begin recruiting its next class of summer interns in September.
The company employed 70 interns this summer — 65 of which were Purdue University students.
“Purdue students are curious and want to dive headfirst into problems and find solutions,” Wabash talent acquisition manager Kyle Richmann said in a news release. “Of all the great qualities Purdue students bring to the table, that one really stands out. We look for that trait in all our employees, too.”
Most interns with the company are engineering students. Although, Wabash seeks to expose interns to a variety of disciplines, including information technology, finance, project management and data analytics.
The company generally seeks interns who are rising juniors or seniors, but has selected rising sophomores and master’s students as well.
Richmann said past interns have brought efficiencies to the company through product development and review of work shift assignments.
“We can place a dollar value on the impact interns are making,” Richmann said. “For example, we had an intern in product engineering who identified a welding solution that saves Wabash $100,000 a year in warranty claims.”
Wabash offers networking and lunch-and-learn opportunities to its interns. Benjamin Zirkle, who graduated from the then-Krannert School of Management in December 2022, said the best thing about his Wabash internship was the relationships he built.
“Not only did I build relationships with the other interns who were at school with me, who I probably had classes with but didn’t know until I started here, but I also built relationships with the employees at Wabash,” Zirkle said in the news release. “I’m very grateful for them.”
Zirkle was hired into the company first as a part-time employee, then full time after his internship.
Wabash leaders are now looking to launch a co-op program that allows summer interns to work on a project during the fall and spring semester while taking classes. Richmann said interested students can find more information on the company’s LinkedIn page or careers website.