SALISBURY — Three Catawba College students are spending their summer working as state of North Carolina interns. The three were selected from more than 475 students who applied for 103 available internships in 20 departments.

The students selected include Blake Brewer of Elfland, assigned to the Lt. Governor’s Office; Elizabeth Howard of Mocksville, assigned to the Environmental Quality Department in the Wildlife Education Division; and Katherine Shumaker of Blanch, assigned to the Environmental Quality Department in the Coastal Management Division.

Established in 1969 as the first such program in the nation, the State of North Carolina Internship Program offers paid internships to North Carolina residents attending a two or four-year college or university, community college, graduate school or law school in North Carolina or an equivalent institution in another state. The internships provide a professional work experience that integrates education, career development and public service. Opportunities exist in numerous recognized fields of study, from accounting to zoology.

According to Robin Perry, Catawba’s director of career services and a governor-appointed member of the North Carolina Internship Council (the governing body of the State Government Internship Program), these students are gaining “incredible experience.”

“All three of the interns from Catawba are learning life skills that will help them long after they graduate from college,” Perry said.

Perry and two of the three Catawba students were able to connect last week during a reception held at the N.C. Governor’s Mansion.