This summer the Alliance for Diversity and Inclusion (ADI) again sponsored a summer internship program, providing opportunities for real, hands-on job experience, learning, and personal growth to the 18 talented college students who participated.

A Diversity of Talent Meets a Diversity of Job Challenges

Interns found positions in a broad range of departments around Cornell. This year the Office of the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Cornell Information Technologies, Facilities and Campus Services, Division of Public Safety, The Cornell Store, Division of Financial Services, eCornell, and the University Audit Office all hired worthy interns.

As in 2022, this year’s program was open not just to students at Cornell, but also those from other colleges and universities – Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Barnard College at Columbia University, UC Berkeley, University of Florida, and University at Buffalo were all represented.

Not Just About the Daily Grind: A Lively Schedule of Speakers and Activities

Running from early June through August, the ADI summer intern program included not only work assignments from supervisors, but also excellent weekly talks from speakers like Cornell VP and Chief Global Information Officer Curtis Cole, VP of Facilities and Campus Services Rick Burgess, Associate Vice President of Public Safety Dave Honan, Director of Diversity and Inclusion Victor Younger, Senior User Experience Specialist Katie Hoff, and Cornell Career Services expert Mia Ferraina. These talks gave interns an amazing range of perspectives on building a career and understanding the contemporary work environment.

In addition, interns participated in a group read of Nudge, an influential book by Nobel laureate Richard Thaler, and discussed how its ideas about ”nudges” and ”sludges” in work and life affect us all. Interns also visited Cornell’s Kroch Library for a presentation by Ben Ortiz, curator of the university’s Hip-hop Library. Several interns were even able to attend this event in person, a welcome departure from the last few years’ exclusively remote sessions!

Last, but certainly not least, interns collaborated on group video projects that explored an aspect of day-to-day student life – the good, the bad, and sometimes the just plain confusing. If you’re interested in taking a look at the creative and entertaining videos that resulted, you can find them on the Group Video Project channel in Video on Demand (Cornell sign-in required).

The program concluded, as it does every year, with a “poster session” allowing interns to share their experiences and thoughts with university leadership and internship managers and supervisors. Using Zoom breakout rooms, this event let interns directly talk about the roles, responsibilities, and accomplishments emerging from their summer work.

It’s worth noting that six of this year’s interns were offered on-going positions into the fall to continue their great work. That’s a real tribute to the quality of the group!

What Did the Interns Think?

Some quotes from interns that speak for themselves:

I was treated with respect, compassion, and kindness by everyone I interacted with throughout my experience. All colleagues on my team made a genuine effort to get to know me, and although I was there as an intern I felt seen on an equal level as other members of the team. I feel so lucky to have worked with such a fantastic, passionate group of people!”

I was doing a lot of work I had never done before. This was challenging, but it felt good to apply things I have learned in a classroom setting to a real job.”

The whole internship was insights! I did not have a great idea of what I was getting myself into, and I learned way more than I thought I would. This has been a huge success.”

The experiences I had this summer have quite literally changed the trajectory of my post-grad life, and I don't think that is something to be taken lightly.”

Already Looking Toward Next Year

Are you a supervisor in a central administration unit who thinks your team would benefit from hiring an ADI intern next year? It’s not too early to begin thinking about what that might involve. To learn more, reach out to Tammy Dibble (td13@cornell.edu).