“We're in the education business, with some of the world's most talented students at our doorstep,” said Rebecca Joffrey, Cornell’s IT Director for Strategy & Innovation and the Project Management Office and a champion of a summer internship program offered through the Alliance for Diversity and Inclusion (ADI). “It's inspiring to see these interns' fresh perspectives on work, technology, and problem-solving.”

This week in our series of 2024 ADI Intern Profiles, meet another three students who impressed Joffrey with their quick grasp of challenging problems and the way they shaped their solutions.

• Brittany Sun: Her Cornell IT supervisor needed assistance with vendor research and data entry to complete two different objectives --leveraging the JAGGAER system to curate CIT contracts and establishing a vendor scorecard process to determine value-- and first-year student Sun embraced the challenge. The Information Science major worked on structuring a centralized repository of vendor information, a product which would help standardize future responses, enhance preparedness, and ultimately facilitate more effective communication with vendors.
• Kendria Miller: A senior Technical and Scientific Communication major at Kennesaw State, Miller’s talent for creating technical documentation enabled her to rewrite over 20 articles in 10 weeks for two very different audiences: the engineers and technicians relying on Cornell’s TeamDynamix content, and the students, faculty, and staff who use customer-focused instructions on the IT@Cornell web pages.
• Anne Perkins: As a Communication Strategy and Design senior at Ithaca College, Perkins was hired to redesign content on the Facilities and Campus Services website. Following an iterative process, Perkins reviewed web pages, met with appropriate department representatives for their feedback, consulted with developers, and then implemented agreed-upon changes.

Reflecting on these and other interns' outcomes, Joffrey said, “This program isn't just a way for students to gain experience. It's a proving ground for my belief that engaging young minds is essential for driving innovation and shaping the future of our workforce.”

Potential employers interested in next summer’s ADI Internship program should contact Joffrey or Tammy Dibble, Director of HR in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Student applicants can join a mailing list for new job announcements by emailing adi-intern@cornell.edu.