Big Ideas Lab podcast explores internships at LLNL

What’s it really like to intern at one of the nation’s premier science and national security labs? A new episode of “The Big Ideas Lab” pulls back the curtain on life as an intern at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), following the journey from first-day nerves to high-impact research. Listen on Apple or Spotify.

The episode features candid stories from interns and mentors, highlighting the unique opportunities and challenges at LLNL. Interns don’t just observe: they’re on the front lines, running experiments, writing code and even traveling abroad.

“We’re not just hiring interns to do any sort of grunt work and the things that we don’t want to do,” said Jarrod Farmer, LLNL’s scholar program manager. “We have a tremendous amount of work to accomplish, and we need the best and the brightest to come here and assist us with that.”

Listeners will hear from Jaya Sicard, a graduate appointee and former Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF) fellow, whose internship took her to France for five weeks to participate in a fusion experiment. She describes a welcoming environment where curiosity is encouraged.

“They allowed me to be a part of an experiment,” Sicard said. “I got very comfortable very quickly because they want you to learn.”

Mentorship is a cornerstone of the LLNL experience. Monica Moya, group leader of the Bioengineering and Advanced Fabrication Group at the Laboratory, credits her own career to supportive mentors.

“I got to where I am because I had a lot of really good mentors along the way,” Moya said. Now, she pays it forward, helping interns discover their strengths and passions.

From crawling inside target chambers to building components that mimic living tissues, interns at LLNL are shaping the future of science. The episode explores how the Lab’s greatest discovery isn’t just fusion or lasers, but the curious minds driving those breakthroughs.

LLNL offers a variety of internships that provide students with hands-on experience, mentorship and the chance to tackle real-world challenges. Whether through science and engineering programs, veteran and military initiatives or partnerships with organizations such as LLF and the Department of Energy, an LLNL internship means joining a collaborative team, receiving valuable guidance and making a real impact.

Tune in to hear how LLNL’s internship program is cultivating the next generation of innovators. Listen on Apple or Spotify.