From the Indiana Chamber
(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indiana INTERNnet, the statewide resource for internship opportunities from the Indiana Chamber, recognized achievements in internships and mentoring today at the 2010 IMPACT Awards Luncheon. The honorees are:
Outstanding Employer of the Year (not-for-profit) – International Center of Indianapolis
Outstanding Employer of the Year (for-profit) – ExactTarget
Career Services Professional of the Year – Jeremy Podany, School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University – Bloomington
Outstanding Intern of the Year (High School) – Emily Miller, Brownsburg High School
Outstanding Intern of the Year (College) – Fangfang Li, University of Indianapolis
The awards were presented during the annual luncheon event in downtown Indianapolis.
Students who intern at the International Center of Indianapolis (ICI) participate in foreign dignitary visits. They help plan prestigious galas and accompany leaders from around the world to local events. Participants receive assignments based on their interests and get to build portfolios containing goals, achievements and feedback. They also play a major role in recruiting other interns to ICI by visiting local universities to share their experience and showcase projects.
At ExactTarget, the hiring philosophy for interns is to hire solely for the individual, as opposed to the role. Once hired, interns are assigned an “ET ambassador” to act as a mentor. The company also hosts a speaker series covering a range of topics, such as social media and defining one’s personal brand. Not only are interns encouraged to go above and beyond with their projects, ask for more work when appropriate and be involved in company-wide philanthropic activities, but to also get to know employers and request job-shadowing opportunities.
Career Services Professional of the Year Jeremy Podany serves as director of career services at the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University-Bloomington. Working to organize career fairs, securing partnerships with local businesses for meaningful internships for IU students and offering career guidance are just a few of Podany’s responsibilities. Over 60% of the students who graduated in 2010 had either secured a job or graduate school placement by the time of graduation, and close to 90% of students had secured a job or graduate school within six months of graduation.
As an intern at Hendricks Regional Health (HRH) last fall, Brownsburg High School senior Emily Miller spent time displaying compassion for the patients around her, including easing the concerns of one surgical patient. Shadowing nurses at HRH, Miller observed surgeries, pre- and post-operative care and immediate recovery; she also did some clerical work. Desiring to be a trauma surgeon, she first plans to major in nursing at Indiana University. She is continuing with HRH this spring with internships centered on respiratory therapy and emergency room care.
FangFang Li‘s colleagues at the ICI considered her positive attitude, team-oriented approach, strong work ethic and maturity impressive. Major projects undertaken by the ICI during Li’s internships included conducting a presentation for a cultural training session on China, where her cultural knowledge and proficiency in Mandarin were important assets. Li made such an impression that she joined ICI as its communications and marketing specialist following her graduation from the University of Indianapolis in December.
For more information about the Indiana INTERNnet program, visit www.workandlearnindiana.com.
