See Yourself in Ames: Recruiting a New Workforce to Ames and Story County

Each summer, many companies in Ames and Story County hire student interns. And for the past six years, the Ames Chamber of Commerce and Ames Economic Development Commission (AEDC) has partnered with local businesses to show these interns that Ames isn’t just a great place to get a degree, but also the Smart Choice in deciding where to start their career.  

A unique aspect of our workforce solutions program is a targeted effort to retain students beyond graduation. The “See Yourself in Ames” summer intern program was launched to help round out the summer experience for college students staying in the area to develop professional skills. The program broadens our workforce solutions effort to attract business and talent by specifically targeting our future workforce members. 

Our summer events provide interns the opportunity to network with other interns as well as local professionals. This year’s theme is “North, South, East, West, See Yourself in Ames” and highlights venues and businesses outside of the Campustown area most students are familiar with. Our goal is to feature unique aspects of Ames that students may not normally visit, in hopes that they will see a future for themselves in our community beyond the classroom.

On June 5, interns will “Get in the Game in West Ames”, learning about some of the great companies who are sponsoring this year’s program. Then on June 26, Ames interns will be joined by Des Moines area interns at the Iowa State University Research Park (south Ames) for a special joint event featuring speaker Adam Carroll, who will help interns learn to live a bigger life.

Our final two events will take place in July, beginning with a “Power, Presence and Style” interactive presentation in north Ames, teaching interns how to navigate professional events. And finally, the summer will conclude on July 31 in downtown Ames with a panel of young professionals sharing their stories on how they saw themselves in Ames.

If you’re interested in attending these events as an intern, employer or simply as an advocate for Ames, you can find more information at www.ameschamber.com or by calling us at 515-232-2310.

It’s important that I thank our generous sponsors who have made this series possible. Ag Leader Technology, Alliant Energy, Bethany Life, City of Ames, Converse Conditioned Air, Danfoss, Des Moines Area Community College, ISU Research Park, Global Reach, GlobalVetLINK, ISU Research Park, Kingland Systems, Kreg Tool, Mary Greeley Medical Center, Renewable Energy Group, Story County and Workiva.
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On behalf of the sponsors, employers and staff at the Ames Chamber of Commerce and AEDC, thank you for continuing to make Ames the smart choice to live, work and play.