Editor’s Note: Our guest author, 2024 ES&S Summer Intern Jordan Petersen, is a journalism and marketing double major at Iowa State University.
In workplaces throughout the country, interns play a vital role due to their fresh perspectives and enthusiastic mindsets. At ES&S, we highly value our interns and strive to provide them with an experience that promotes learning and growth through meaningful work and opportunities.
This summer, ES&S welcomed our largest class — 12 interns! We were thrilled to welcome this new group of talented individuals. Since joining us in May, our interns have worked hard, assisting with projects and learning new skills. We’re excited to share all the great things they’ve been doing!
Networking and Building Connections
During their time with us, ES&S interns have had the chance to connect with individuals in different departments through networking activities. Some of these activities included our “Lunch with Leaders” series, having lunch with past interns who are now ES&S employees and meeting the executive team!
Through these activities and other day-to-day tasks, ES&S interns have worked on their communication skills and built personal connections within their career industries.
“Outside of the amazing marketing team, I was encouraged to set up meetings with team leads in different departments, and I learned so much through doing so. Connecting with individuals outside my department gave me a sense of community and belonging at ES&S.” Marketing Communications Intern Jordan Petersen said.
Learning Valuable Career Skills
ES&S interns not only built professional connections in their field but also acquired career-focused skills through valuable work opportunities.
“The project I am most proud of is one that I am working with another intern on, Sam Baumert, on the embedded software development team. We are currently programming a report printer on the DS300 device, which has had its challenges, but we’ve made good progress on it and are on route to complete by the end of the summer,” VT Development Management Intern Haider Al-Barakat said.
“Some skills I have learned are identifying vulnerabilities, using Forensic Security tools to analyze reports and overall applying standard IT security practices,” Information Technology Intern Jordan Thai said.
Testimonies and Takeaways
As the 2024 summer comes to an end, it’s time to highlight the outstanding work our interns have achieved and share some of the insights they’ve gained. Let’s hear what they had to say:
- “My time spent at ES&S has been invaluable to me, offering real-life work experience from Scrum meetings to bug fixing and even best practices in specific programming frameworks. I am most proud of my implementations that have gone on to be used in production, fixing display and file generation features. Working with the talented and kind people here has shown me what a team can do when truly unified and has equipped me with quite the toolset for the professional world!”
Raymon Tyree – 2024 Summer Intern turned Software Engineer I - “Joining the ES&S marketing team as a marketing communications intern has brought me so much insight into the professional marketing world. Since my first day at ES&S, I have been given the freedom to learn from the professionals while also adding my own creative touch to projects, and that has allowed me to learn and grow in more ways than I could imagine.”
Jordan Petersen – Marketing Communications Intern - “I’ve learned that it’s okay to not know everything and that you will need to do research on your own to feel caught up. Imposter syndrome is real, but you get used to it and it will definitely help with the learning curve as you go on.”
Haider Al-Barakat – VT Development Management Intern - “I’ve been able to grow professionally with ES&S through my first hands-on experience with using security tools. The people at ES&S are super friendly and genuine. Makes the work environment so enjoyable!”
Jordan Thai – Information Technology Intern - “They don’t treat us like interns, which isn’t what I expected at all. It makes me feel good and valued because it makes me understand that my work is important and helps me know what I need to look for in an employer.”
Shona Juliana – Information Systems Intern - “I have developed confidence in my own effectiveness as a future lawyer. I have gotten a glimpse at what practicing law looks like in the real world and I’ve gained a better picture of my place in the legal field. The things I’ve worked on at ES&S are relevant and have tested the skills I’ve learned in law school. I’ve utilized my love for solving legal issues, learning about the law, and advocating for a client. My experience at ES&S has confirmed my choice of career path and has given me encouragement for the future.”
Abby Johnson – Law Clerk - “Building strong relationships with my colleagues has been crucial at ES&S. Collaborating closely with the development team has improved my communication skills and the implementation of new features, like the sticky filters and UI changes for Pollbook. These relationships have made my work more collaborative and enjoyable, contributing to our project’s success.”
Sowmya Bandari – Pollbook Development Intern