Private Sector Internship Opportunities Increase for OU Students

Private Sector Internship Opportunities Increase for OU Students

Private sector employment is the fastest-growing area for future meteorologists to consider, according to Dr. Jason Furtado, School of Meteorology Associate Professor and Mabrey Presidential Professor. The faculty and staff of the School of Meteorology are hard at work liaising with private sector partners to create further opportunities for meteorology majors to intern and seek employment with these partners. One such recent opportunity came from the work of Dr. Furtado and Gary Marshall, the CEO of Risk Point. Risk Point is “…a full-service Program Manager and leading provider of insurance underwriting and claims expertise to the franchised auto dealership sector, targeting the Dealer Open Lot and Garage markets” based out of Dallas, TX. Together, Dr. Furtado and Mr. Marshall worked to open a paid internship opportunity to OU Meteorology majors. After applications and a series of interviews, Jacob Robb (B.S. Meteorology, 2022) was selected for the internship. After a few weeks of very impressive work, Risk Point decided to hire Jacob Robb for a new position as full-time Meteorologist.

Risk Point’s decision is one that we expect many more insurance and similar companies to emulate; student meteorologists from OU can provide a high degree of value to these companies, and in turn, the students get an experience in the professional world that is invaluable. We encourage all of our students to seek opportunities for real world experience through service learning, internships, shadowing, fellowships, etc., and we know that our faculty mentors are the best possible connections for students. Our thanks to Dr. Furtado, Mr. Marshall, and Jacob for leading the way!