7 minute read
Internships That Work
Coffee runs and copy-making? Not for these five interns, who gained powerful real-world experience (and a few job offers) in impressive internships all over the world.
Jordan Leogrande '19
Jordan Leogrande ’19
Internship: Pre-construction intern at Texas-based commercial construction firm
Location: Dallas, Texas
Getting the gig: After applying to more than 140 construction companies, Leogrande was thrilled to score an interview with the organization at the top of his list (which he’d prefer not to identify). “I have always been drawn to a bigger playing field,” he says. So when one of the most respected commercial construction firms in Texas offered him a summer internship at their Dallas headquarters, “I jumped at the opportunity.”
Ready for takeoff: In his role, Leogrande analyzed data to provide quantity take-offs— construction management lingo for estimates of materials and labor required to complete a job. Leogrande’s work focused on the company’s aviation projects, which included international airport expansions and renovations.
Typical day on the job: “I would arrive at my office around 6:30 a.m., have a Donut-Shop K-Cup, and get to work,” Leogrande says. “My goal each day was to walk out of the office knowing more than I did when I walked in.”
Southern discomfort: A Central New York native, Leogrande says he wasn’t exactly prepared for the Texas heat. “It’s a stereotype that Texas summers are hot, but I’m convinced that you don’t know real heat until you spend a summer in Texas.”
Good company: Leogrande’s coworkers and supervisors were “some of the brightest and most passionate people in the commercial construction industry,” he says. And the feeling was mutual: Leogrande was offered a full-time position as an estimator at the company after he graduates in spring 2019. “Being handed that job-offer letter is the proudest moment of my life to date.”
Allison Della Penna '18
Allison Della Penna ’18
Major: Psychology – Child Life, Child Life Specialty Concentration
Internship: Child life intern at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital
Location: Syracuse, New York
Getting the gig: Notoriously competitive, child life internships require an extensive application and interview process. Della Penna applied to 20 children’s hospitals throughout the Northeast and scored interviews at 10. She opted for Upstate, where she is the only child life intern on staff. “I knew I could grow professionally and personally here,” she says. “It was the best choice for me.”
Talking the talk: A child life specialist is “half teacher, half social worker,” explains Della Penna. While doctors and nurses are concerned with the medical side of a child’s care, the child life specialist helps explain procedures to kids in language they can understand, sometimes using toys and games to make the hospital less intimidating. “Little things that adults take for granted, like the noises or smells of the hospital, can be scary to children,” she says. “My job is to make them comfortable and create normalcy during their hospital stay.”
In their shoes: Della Penna knows firsthand the value of a child life specialist’s role. Her younger brother, Griffin, was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 7, and she has vivid memories of the hospital’s child life specialist explaining the procedures her brother was undergoing, like having a port placed in his chest for chemotherapy. “I remember she used a doll to show me what the port would look like,” she says. “It made it less scary.” Now cancer-free for over a decade, Griffin and his cancer journey help inform Della Penna’s approach to patients every day. “I can tell families that I know what they’re going through, because I’ve been there.”
A typical day: As a fulltime intern, Della Penna works at Upstate 40 hours a week. For the first half of her internship, Della Penna worked days in the pediatric oncology unit. In the second half, she transitioned to nights in the “much faster-paced” Emergency Department, she says. “In Emergency, you have no idea what to expect, so it’s more challenging.”
In the bag: “It’s become a joke around here that I always have my ‘bag of tricks’ with me,’” she says, referring to her impressive supply of games, toys, and dolls with pretend medical equipment. “Kids learn and express emotions through play, so toys are really important.” Using a blank-faced doll and marker, for example, Della Penna will ask a child to draw how he’s feeling. “It starts the conversation.”
Proud moment: While Della Penna mostly works under the guidance of her supervisor, one of her proudest moments was preparing a child for a procedure on her own. “I have been able to develop my own skill set here,” she says “This experience is helping me transition from a student to a professional.”
Tyler Dowsland '19
Tyler Dowsland ’19
Major: Cybersecurity
Internship: Security Operations Center (SOC) Associate Analyst at CipherTechs
Location: Kilkenny, Ireland
Getting the gig: Dowsland’s brother works in the cyber field, and he mentioned his company was looking for a summer intern at their Ireland location. “I’ve never been outside the United States before, so that drew me in,” Dowsland says. He interviewed for the position and was selected. He made the big trip across the pond the week after classes ended in May.
Quick study: In his role as analyst, Dowsland monitored the company’s clients for security breeches and investigated suspicious activity through IP addresses, browsing history, and geo-locations.
“I thought I was going to need weeks of training to comprehend the work I was doing,” he says, “but after a week of hands-on training, I was working in queues just like the other analysts were.”
Welcome home: Located about 80 miles south of Dublin, Kilkenny is a small city that “instantly felt welcoming.” Plus, being of Irish descent, Dowsland says traveling to the country “felt like going to the motherland.”
Comic relief: “My colleagues were some of the most focused individuals I’ve ever met,” Dowsland says. “But when the day was going slow, someone would make a joke and the whole office would be laughing.” Soccer balls and Frisbees made frequent appearances around the office, too. “It was like working with a bunch of professional comedians.”
Liam Patterson '19
Liam Patterson ’19
Major: Physics
Internship: Research Intern, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Getting the gig: UC Physics Professor Linda Dake encouraged Patterson to explore the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, which places qualified undergraduate students at National Science Foundation-funded research sites all over the country. An opportunity to study astrophysics at the University of Colorado Boulder appealed to him most. “I’d never been outside the eastern U.S., so I was excited to see that part of the country.” He applied and was accepted.
Seeing stars: Patterson worked with data collected in the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment to study solar flares, the sudden release of energy in the solar atmosphere. Under the guidance of a mentor, he wrote computer code to detect flares and help scientists understand why— and when—they’re likely to happen.
Follow the sun: As a kid, Patterson was obsessed with astronomy. “My parents took me to planetariums, and I loved the idea of exploring the unknown,” he says. “The sun fascinates me because it’s our closest star and there’s still so much we don’t know about it.” After graduating in spring 2019, Patterson plans to study solar physics in graduate school.
Mountain man: When he wasn’t in the lab, Patterson found time to explore Boulder, mostly on his bike. “Boulder is extremely bikefriendly,” he says. “There are bike paths everywhere, and there was even a bike trail from my apartment to my office.” Rocky Mountain National Park was a favorite destination, too. “It’s a great place for stargazing,” he says. “You can see everything.”
Mikal Saxon '19
Mikal Saxon ’19
Major: Communication and Media
Internship: Intern, 97.9/105.5 Kiss FM Radio
Location: Utica, New York
Getting the gig: Saxon connected with Kiss FM personality Kris “Roscoe Red” Majka last year, when a public relations course assignment required him to interview a person in his dream career. The next semester, when it came time to pursue fieldwork opportunities, Saxon reconnected with Majka and scored a position as intern. “My dream is to tell stories for a living and reach a lot of people, and radio is the perfect outlet for that,” he says.
Now hear this: Saxon had only been on the job a few weeks (working mostly behind the scenes) when he was asked to go on the air last-minute to share his experience during UC’s lockdown in March 2018. “I just looked at the mic like it was a person I was having a conversation with,” he says. “That helped me get over the nerves.”
Man on the street: Though most of Saxon’s time was spent at the station’s studio in Utica, he often found himself representing Kiss FM in the local community. For the station’s popular “CNY Bachelor” contest, Saxon visited Utica hot spots like Ocean Blue restaurant and the Stanley Theater with contestants.
He also helped organize the weekly “What the Truck” food truck event during the summer. Says Saxon: “I saw how important it is to network with the community and local businesses.”
Working lunch: Saxon says his proudest moment during his internship came at the end-of-semester intern luncheon, organized by communications professor David Chanatry. Saxon invited his supervisor, Kiss FM Promotions Director Liz DeSanctis, to the event. “Ms. Liz helped me every step of the way during my internship, and it was an amazing feeling to reflect on how much I grew and learned about myself in such a short time.”
