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October 20, 2025
GREEN BAY – Picture this: a draft, hosted at Lambeau Field, shaping the futures of hundreds of college students looking to go pro.
If you imagined last April’s NFL Draft, Ann Franz said she can’t blame you – but she’d like to point out the NEW Manufacturing Alliance blazed this trail long ago with its annual Internship Draft Day event, and the NFL “finally caught up.”
“It was amazing that the NFL held the NFL Draft here in our small community, and it’s kind of a fun thing that we’ve been doing a draft for 11 years, and finally the NFL figured it out,” she laughed.
Coincidence aside, Franz – executive director at NEW Manufacturing Alliance – said as it is every year, the 2025 Internship Draft Day event will be a special one.
“It is another wonderful example of industry working closely with the two- and four-year colleges and really making a difference in these students’ lives,” she said.
Event details
Per internshipdraftday.com, Internship Draft Day 2025 takes place from 3-5:45 p.m. Nov. 5, in the Lambeau Field Atrium, with more than 50 companies present to interview students for more than 200 available internship and co-op opportunities.
These opportunities, Franz said, are primarily for the summer of 2026, though some are also set for spring.
She said two- and four-year college students from any school, and of any age or year of study, can register for the event through Oct. 31.
“You don’t have to wait until you’re a senior or a junior, because what companies are looking for is somebody who is motivated and passionate about their field of study, and they’re willing to train these college students,” she said.
Franz said students from all over Wisconsin and Upper Michigan are encouraged to register.
Ahead of the event, she said registered students can use the website to preview and research the participating companies and then schedule 15-minute interviews for during the event.
“That’s kind of a unique thing, where the students see the full job description for the internships before they even arrive,” she said.
Students are also able to select a “network only” option, Franz said, allowing them to visit companies’ booths to learn more.
“If they want to come and experience the event, there’s no cost to the employer or to the students,” she said.
Scholarship opportunities
Franz said students who schedule and participate in interviews are also eligible to win scholarship funding.
“What I love about the event itself is students come into Lambeau Field, then they see their name on a draft board based on their student club participation and GPA,” she said. “During their interviews, they get points for how well they interview.”
In addition to students’ “draft stock” rising with points from grade point average, club participation and relevant work experience, Franz said students who have registered early are awarded bonus points.
“Then also, if a company says ‘this was the best person I talked to all day,’ they get 50 additional points,” she said, adding that this distinction is called MVI – Most Valuable Interview.
Per the website, when five or more students from a given school interview at the event, the school’s No. 1 draft pick receives a $500 scholarship; the No. 2 overall draft pick will receive an additional college scholarship worth $1,000; and the No. 1 overall draft pick will receive an additional scholarship worth $2,000.
“The college scholarship part is a real benefit to students,” Franz said. “College debt is a huge issue, and students are really aware that if there’s an opportunity for scholarships, they want to be there.”
Franz said the NEW Manufacturing Alliance started offering college scholarships about 15 years ago, and the Internship Draft Day provided an avenue “to expand on our investment.”
“That was a huge initiative of our board of directors – they really wanted to invest their resources into these students – and [Internship Draft Day] was a way for us to increase the amount that we give each year,” she said. “This year, we’ll give $65,000 in college scholarships, and over the course of time, we’ve given more than half a million dollars.”
Though the point system introduces a sense of competition, Franz said the lighthearted nature of the event is represented in its logo: “two hands shaking in the shape of a football.”
“At the end of the event in the past, Mark Murphy, the [former] president of the Green Bay Packers, announced the No. 1 draft picks for each college and then the top overall, No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks,” she said.
A bit of background
Franz said when the NEW Manufacturing Alliance brainstormed Internship Draft Day, “the goal was to have an opportunity where students [from many] different colleges could network [with each other] and then also network with companies in the area.”
Hosting the event at Lambeau Field, she said, encouraged them to add the “fun twist” of a draft theme.
“It’s been such a fun event,” she said. “In the past, we gave jerseys out, we played ‘Jump Around’ between the networking breaks and we had delicious food from Lambeau Field, including brats. What more [could] you want?”
As the event has gained popularity with students over its 11-year run, Franz said employers have been just as enthusiastic.
“We have companies come back year after year because they really are finding talented individuals,” she said. “Instead of them going to 15 different colleges [to recruit]… they can just go to this one event and be able to experience 15 different colleges’ worth of talent.”
Franz said Internship Draft Day has created countless valuable career connections.
“What’s so exciting is we’ve had people on the [event] planning committee over the years who were former college students who got their internship at Internship Draft Day, and then after they graduated, they got a full-time job from that company,” she said.
Forward progress
This year, Franz said she anticipates more than 200 students will attend Internship Draft Day.
As the employment landscape and industries continually change, she said internships remain an invaluable source of experience for those starting a new career, and a pipeline for companies to connect to talent.
“[An internship] is truly a win-win for both the college student and the employer,” she said. “College students want to do something that’s real – that has real-world application – and instead of just taking classes where you’re doing make-believe scenarios, with internships, you’re able to do real-world work, and companies have the opportunity to work with these talented students.”
Franz said with NEW Manufacturing Alliance, she often receives favorable feedback on new employees’ preparedness thanks to college internships.
“Companies are always telling me they’re blown away by the professionalism/expertise these college students have early on in their careers,” she said.
Visit the event website for more information and registration.
