This year’s summer internship experience looked a little different for two of our interns, Alejandro and Jacob. Alejandro, an Application Developer Intern, and Jacob, a Project Coordinator Intern with Long Term Growth, have both spent three summers interning at Interstates! As a way to thank them for their continued work at Interstates, the recruiting team sent Alejandro and Jacob to the Des Moines area for a week to take part in Leadership Iowa University (LIU), a program of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation.
LIU is designed to provide college students with experiential learning opportunities, exposing them to different industries in Iowa and giving them the chance to grow their professional network. Both of the guys commented on how much they enjoyed the experience, but also that it was different than they expected. “It wasn’t like other conferences I’ve been to,” said Jacob, “where you just sit in a convention center for a weekend listening to seminars. We were on the go for 12 hours a day visiting different businesses and hearing from different professionals”. Alejandro and Jacob shared that the week was less about training, and more about making connections. They learned about what type of industries are in the whole state of Iowa, rather than just understanding the economy of Northwest Iowa.
One of the biggest takeaways for Jacob and Alejandro was the need to get involved, wherever they end up in the future. They learned the value of networking in both their professional and personal lives. We are excited about the possibility of continuing to support this program in future years.
Interested in an internship with Interstates? Contact us to learn more!
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Gregory Plooy, SHRM-CP
Interstates Recruiter
