AUG 26, 2026
A summer can go by pretty quickly. But in just a few short months, a lot can grow.
This summer, four interns joined the team at Kimmel Orchard with different areas of study, different interests, and different ideas of what their future careers might look like. They came ready to learn, but they were also given something just as important: the opportunity to do.
At Kimmel Orchard, an internship is not just about following someone around for the summer. It is an opportunity for students to take what they have learned in the classroom, apply it in a real-world setting, and take ownership of projects that make an impact on the orchard.
For Rachel, that meant digging into Kimmel Orchard's history.
Throughout her internship, Rachel researched and developed a new history display that will soon give visitors another way to learn about the people, stories, and moments that have shaped the orchard over the years. Her work will continue educating guests long after her internship comes to an end.
Kelty spent her summer helping tell Kimmel Orchard's story in a very different way.
Through her marketing internship, she helped grow Kimmel's presence on TikTok and YouTube, with content reaching more than 35,000 views throughout the summer. Along the way, she gained hands-on experience creating content and learning how digital platforms can help an organization connect with new audiences.
For Cayla, the summer came with the opportunity to take an event from an idea to reality.
Cayla organized A Night in Bloom, giving her the chance to experience the many details that go into planning and hosting an event at the orchard. Seeing the event come together also gave her an opportunity to explore what a future career in event planning could look like.
And then there is Seth's project, which is only beginning to grow.
As we shared in July, Seth planned and established a pollinator-focused fallow plot using native prairie grasses and wildflowers. The project was designed to help restore the soil while creating habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects. Unlike a project that ends when the summer does, Seth's work was created with the years ahead in mind.
Four interns. Four very different projects.
That is part of what makes an internship at Kimmel Orchard unique. Agriculture needs agronomists and horticulturists, but it also needs marketers, educators, event planners, communicators, researchers, and people with ideas we may not have thought of yet. An orchard provides a place where all of those interests can come together.
Our interns are given room to explore those interests while contributing something meaningful along the way. Some of those contributions can be measured in views. Others can be seen at a successful event, discovered in a new display, or found growing quietly beneath the soil.
More importantly, each project gives a student the chance to learn something about themselves.
Maybe an experience confirms the career they have always pictured. Maybe it introduces them to an opportunity they had never considered. Maybe it simply gives them the confidence that comes from seeing an idea through from beginning to end.
That is what experiential learning is all about!
As another summer internship season comes to a close, we are grateful for everything Rachel, Kelty, Cayla, and Seth brought to Kimmel Orchard this year. Their internships may have only lasted a summer, but the work they leave behind will continue making an impact.
And if there is one thing an orchard teaches us, it is that meaningful growth takes root when people are given the opportunity, support, and space to grow.
