SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State University hosted a special signing ceremony Friday to announce a partnership agreement between the university and Goodfellow Air Force Base that will provide new practical learning experiences for ASU students at the base.
“Goodfellow has been an extremely great partner with Angelo State University, and so it was really them coming to us saying, we have this need and we have these opportunities and we're going to align our funding to help support it,” Angelo State University Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Ben Lion said.
The university signed a partnership memorandum of understanding with the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow that will create paid internship opportunities for students from all of ASU's academic colleges with various units and squadrons at Goodfellow.
“To see what the interns gain out of it, it's just astonishing to me. And again, I really love that opportunity to recruit, bring in some of the civilian workforce and kind of see what we can do. And all of it is in defense of our nation, which is pretty, pretty outstanding,” Goodfellow Air Force Base, Commander 17th Training Wing, Col. Matthew Reilman, said.
The internships will provide ASU students an opportunity to actively apply their academic knowledge through practical experience under the mentorship of seasoned military and civilian professionals. They will also expose the students to a variety of government service positions as they learn how civilians can help support the mission of military bases.
“We can get so much more done when we bring in fresh ideas and perspectives. And these interns have already delivered on some of our projects that help our airmen and families,” Reilman, said.
Additionally, upon completion of their internships and graduating from ASU, students may be eligible to apply for open vacancies within the GAFB squadron or unit where they interned. If no local vacancies are available, the students may be assisted with applying for vacant positions at other Air Force installations.
"Goodfellow Air Force Base continues to be a strong partner with Angelo State University, providing unique opportunities for our students that also benefit the greater San Angelo community," Dr. Ben Lion, ASU vice president for student affairs, said. "Our students will greatly benefit from these internships as they gain experience through practical application of their academic majors in real-world settings."
ASU and Goodfellow will collaborate to recruit qualified students for the internships. The selected students will each be assigned an internship supervisor at the base who will provide mentorship, supervision and evaluation.
“It's an exciting opportunity where Goodfellow has expanded its internship program. So historically we've had engineering interns, and this really opens up the opportunity for all of our students from different majors to be able to have internships on Goodfellow Air Force base’s campus,” Lion said.
The internships will be offered through various squadrons and units at Goodfellow, including:
- 17th Training Wing
- 17th Mission Support Group
- 17th Training Group
- 17th Civil Engineering Squadron
Goodfellow officials said base personnel are excited for the opportunity to provide Angelo State students the ability to gain meaningful, practical experiences related to their degrees and they hope those students will consider continuing their professional careers at Goodfellow after graduation.
Recruiting for the first round of internships will begin immediately and the MOU agreement will run through the 2029-2030 academic year, subject to annual review.