Some of the most valuable time in my educational career was spent participating in forest products internships. For the past two summers I have traveled to North Carolina and Louisiana, working for Columbia Forest Products (plywood) and Trus Joist, a Weyerhaeuser Business (LVL and I-Joists), respectively. These paid internships were each, on average, 12 weeks long. Each covered my transportation, provided housing, and allowed a flexible work schedule. During these internships, I served as a quality assurance/special projects technician. I conducted my own research studies on current problems or issues related to the products. Though I received little supervision, I successfully completed my projects and also learned a great deal about the processes involved in making hardwood plywood, laminated veneer lumber, and I-beams. In my opinion, the most valuable part of these internships had nothing to do with the work itself. Traveling and seeing new places, meeting new people, and making friends for life made it all worthwhile. I mean, when you live just a few hours from New Orleans, how much better could it be.!!!!