Haslam Graduate Student Interns Celebrate National Intern Day through LinkedIn

August 5, 2021

National Intern Day acknowledges the many contributions interns make to companies as they gain experience in their chosen professions. Started in 2017 by WayUp, an organization that works to enable early-career candidates to connect to employers and vice versa, it is celebrated annually on the last Thursday of July.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business Graduate & Executive Education (GEE) Career Management Center has marked the occasion in different ways. Last year, for instance, the college’s namesake, James A. Haslam II, recorded a video message paying tribute to interns. In 2021, a different approach was on display.

“This year, we thought it would be instructive to have the students speak about their experience as interns,” Pedro Gonzalez, GEE’s director of career management, said. “LinkedIn is the perfect professional platform to showcase those experiences.”

The students offered an array of perspectives on their internships. For example, MBA candidate Sydney Hicks spoke glowingly of her experience at Raytheon Missiles & Defense.

“I have been blessed to be interning with Raytheon Missiles & Defense this summer under an integrated supplier team in the Global Supply Chain Division,” she wrote. “Working as a supplier engineer has been a perfect mix of my technical background and business IQ.”

Alex Collings, a supply chain management MBA candidate, was appreciative of her time at SC Johnson, posting, “I have been enjoying my time at SC Johnson as a procurement portfolio summer intern. A special thank you to my managers here at SCJ, Angela Allen and Nick Jungers, for guiding me through this experience and ensuring I walk away with as much learning as possible.”

Getting the chance to flex the knowledge and skills she has been learning was important to Halle Pitner, a dual MBA/MSBA candidate.

“I am proud to be spending my summer at Y-12 National Security Complex working as a financial reporting and modeling intern,” Pitner messaged. “There have been ample opportunities to showcase the analytical skills I am gaining from the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee through predictive modeling and data engineering.”

Natalie Feller, GEE employer relations manager, noted that these are just a few among many examples of their students who celebrated National Intern Day while continuing to contribute to their organizations’ success and gaining valuable on-the job skills and knowledge. These are student experiences that the staff at the career management center never tire of lauding, she added.

“At Haslam, we always enjoy recognizing the importance of our students working in internships, she says. “National Intern Day allows us to take the time to reflect upon how significant internships can be in defining their career paths.”

For more information on how the career management center works with graduate students on internship and job placement and more, contact Feller at natalief@utk.edu or 865-974-5542.

CONTACT:

Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu