Freeport Celebrates Future Talent at 2026 University Intern Conference

August 25, 2026 - Freeport’s future was on full display as the company’s 2026 University Intern Conference brought its summer class to corporate headquarters in Phoenix for two days of presentations, networking and celebration.

This year, 193 interns joined Freeport from 67 universities across the country. They gained hands-on experience in disciplines such as engineering, metallurgy, chemistry, geology, business administration, communications and health and safety. Of that group, 117 were selected to present their summer projects to fellow interns, mentors and company leaders.

Comprehensive program

Held July 29-30 in Phoenix, the conference paired those project presentations with speakers and breakout sessions spanning the many technical fields that power modern mining.

Day 1 featured a keynote from Stacey Koon, Vice President-Health, Safety and Technical Training. Koon traced her own winding career, from corporate human resources to an expatriate assignment in Chile, to serving as a General Manager in Morenci, to leading health and safety, and encouraged interns to embrace the unknown.

“I learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” Koon said. “When you’re uncomfortable, that’s when you’re learning.”

President and Chief Executive Officer Kathleen Quirk also made an impromptu appearance the first day. After the conference broke into breakout sessions, she quietly slipped into several of the rooms, listened as interns presented their summer projects and offered comments and questions to the presenters.

“One of the things that’s so important about you coming into the company is that you’re bringing new perspectives, new ideas and new ways to do things,” she told the interns. “We want to listen to people who aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions.”

Samahara Quintana Chavez, who expects to graduate from the University of Texas at El Paso this December, spent this summer as an intern in Operational Excellence and was one of the presenters at the event.

“The conference helped me realize that my contributions can extend beyond my immediate team,” she said. “Seeing others engage with my project and hearing how it could be valuable in different areas of the company gave me a better understanding of the broader impact our work can have. It reinforced my interest in pursuing a career where I can continue driving improvements, collaborating across teams and creating solutions that help others.”

Freeport’s future workforce

For Freeport’s Talent Acquisition team, the conference caps a program that has become one of the company’s most important talent pipelines.

“Freeport’s internship program is more than a summer experience; it’s an investment in our future workforce,” said Alyssa Kohn, Talent Acquisition Supervisor. “As Freeport continues to grow, the program serves as an important talent pipeline, helping us develop future professionals who may return as full-time employees and contribute to the company’s long-term success.”

That pipeline is a proven one. Over the past five years, an average of 83 percent of Freeport interns have received some form of offer, whether a return internship or a new-graduate role, Kohn said.

Photos (top to bottom): Samahara Quintana Chavez, Operational Excellence Intern, presents at the 2026 University Summer Intern Conference; Alexander Fosu (left) and Oscar Zapana Gago, Chino’s Project Engineering interns, collaborated on the winning entry in the intern photo contest; Aadish Velmani, Geology Intern-Technology Center Tucson (left); Renzo Omar Solis Vega, Hydrometallurgy Research and Development Intern-Morenci; Zohreh Kazemi Motlagh, Geology Intern-Chino; and Mariam Koanda, Mine Engineer I-Chino, who was one of this year’s intern mentors.