Photo Courtesy Rupesh Kariyat
Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER
U.S. Customs and Border Protection are seeking UTRGV students to work as paid interns of the federal government in processing commercial produce shipments at the Rio Grande Valley Pharr port of entry.
The initiative began in 2017 with conversations of a collaboration between the university and CBP.
“The program was created to meet a need by Customs and Border Patrol, to find folks who are trained in this kind of field,. in particular, local qualified applicants … and get them to eventually take on full-time positions,” said Alexis Racelis, an associate biology professor at UTRGV.
Racelis said many times specialists in this field only stay temporarily, for about three to five months, and then relocate. This is why the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is looking for qualified applicants in the region who would like to stay in the profession as a long-term career.
Asked if she plans on staying in the profession, Alissa Rangel, a biology senior and intern in the program, replied, “Definitely. I actually ended up really liking it and I’m actually looking into becoming an agricultural specialist. I think it really did help me choose a career.”
Rangel shadows agricultural specialists as an intern at the Pharr port of entry, and said she is grateful for the opportunity to receive hands-on experience.
Students majoring in biology, environmental science and the university’s new sustainable agriculture and food systems major are highly encouraged to apply.
“These degrees have the courses that would qualify students for this type of position,” Racelis said.
Requirements to apply include being an undergraduate or recent graduate student in the favorable science majors, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, demonstrating a specific skill set, providing proof of enrollment in the university and an updated resume.
“It is for students in the biological and agricultural sciences that demonstrate a certain set of skills that they use at the port of entry,” Racelis said. “For example skills of entomology, skills in biological sciences, skills in food safety. You know, these are classes they may have taken at UTRGV.”
He said the goal of the program is to give students the hands-on experience to transform them into full-time employees.
“UTRGV students get experience in these positions so that when they graduate they can qualify for a full-time position,”Racelis said.
After two years of negotiations, the program has finally taken off and interns work 10 to 20 hours a week.
“The government is expecting a huge demand in these types of students who are prepared to do that job, prepared both in experience and in education,” Racelis said. “So, that’s where we work together at UTRGV.”
He said the application is initiated by the federal government and the last application period was in February.
“What they do normally is they advertise and they tell us some positions will open up,” Racelis said. “The applicants need to be prepared and ready. So, what we’re going to try to do this time is announce it earlier so if students are in fact interested we can help them prepare their application.”
Racelis mentors students to take the proper courses throughout the semester and, when applications open, he helps them submit their application through the federal portal.
“That portal will open up whenever the federal government is ready to receive more interns, usually on an annual or semiannual basis,” he said.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Racelis said the interns have continued to work throughout the crisis.
“This is considered a position of national importance,” he said. “[The U.S.] requires a lot of food, and food has to come over safely. So the need for these types of positions is just going to grow. Even during COVID.”
Rangel’s message to students who are interested in applying to the program is to try it out, even if they are not completely sure if it is for them.
“It’s good to put your foot in the door in any way you can when it comes to government jobs,” she said.
