Within her first year as the Weiner Family Entrepreneur in Residence, Jen Martin has demonstrated that with new perspectives comes new opportunities. In addition to overseeing the reframed TIA Summer Accelerator, Martin is spearheading the office鈥檚 new TIA Internship Program. This initiative connects TIA Incubator students with meaningful summer internship experiences to gain valuable career skills, leveraging the TIA network.
鈥淎s TIA grows, I want the access and resources surrounding our students to grow with it. We believe in learning by doing, and an internship is the ultimate expression of that. Our alumni mentors are incredible, and tapping into their networks allows us to offer opportunities for exceptional students to see the inner workings of a business firsthand while growing their professional and peer networks,鈥 Martin said.
Any student who is working on a venture in the TIA Incubator can participate in the new internship program. This year, eight students signed up for the program. The immediate focus for Martin was on leveraging the extensive TIA mentor network to identify internship opportunities for each student and secure warm introductions to the hiring manager. Ultimately, all eight students successfully secured summer internships, with four of those coming directly through the TIA network.
The students participating in the program are all receiving funding from E&I to cover their living expenses; the program鈥檚 funding model is modeled after Career Services鈥 Summer Funding program. In addition, students will have bi-weekly check-in meetings with Martin during the internship to discuss progress and learnings, opportunities and challenges, and ways for students to apply their learnings back into their ventures.
The internship is just one way that Martin is expanding outcomes for TIA students. Her efforts reflect a desire to give aspiring entrepreneurs hands-on experiences that reap tangible rewards. Interns will have the chance to get their foot in the door by making relationships with professionals early in their careers. The TIA Incubator often features accomplished entrepreneurs, but the internship goes a step further to allow students to not just listen to experts but work with them as well. This program can additionally give students the opportunity to shape their job interests and develop professional skills. Taking advantage of the internship will set a student apart when applying to graduate school or a job in their field.
鈥淲hether they are interning or working on their own venture, these experiences fundamentally change how they see themselves and how they solve problems,鈥 said Martin. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just a summer experience, it鈥檚 a massive growth moment that sets them apart in a competitive world. There was so much energy in TIA this year, and these programs ensure that fire keeps burning.鈥
The four students participating in the first installment of the TIA Internship Program are:
- Onil Carrion Herrera 鈥26, who will intern at
- Yabesi Witinya 鈥26, who will intern at
- Liz Manly 鈥27, who will intern at
- Tucker McPartlin 鈥27, who will intern at
E&I would like to thank Ed Jalinske 鈥00, Rebecca Nackson 鈥03, Alexis Kartalian 鈥23, and Elea Crockett for their roles in making these opportunities possible, as well as everyone in the TIA network who helped connect program participants to internship opportunities and informational interviews.
Commenting on the new program, E&I Director Carolyn Strobel-Larsen said, 鈥淥ver the past few years, students in TIA have been telling us about the importance of summer internships, as well as the challenges to securing meaningful experiences in today鈥檚 competitive environment. In addition, we鈥檝e heard from mentors about how much the teams they鈥檙e mentoring would benefit from real-world experience. I鈥檓 very proud that we have launched this program to meet those needs and support our work enabling students to develop valuable entrepreneurial and career skills.鈥