Sometimes, circumstances help us appreciate what we have, reframe priorities, and challenge us in ways that ultimately shape us into something better.
As the US Program Manager for Discover’s Technology Campus Programs, this is what I continue to experience as COVID-19 forces us to rethink our summer internship program.
The current environment is an opportunity to evaluate priorities, further partner across the organization, and come up with better solutions for Discover. We are honoring our commitment to our incoming interns and offering our internship program virtually.
Specifically, we focused on the most impactful and valuable aspects of the program. We selected meaningful projects where interns will do real work, be able to make a direct impact remotely, and continue to build relationships. For example, in my technology internship track, students will learn the platforms and tools that the company is using to solve real problems and help innovate in the Banking and Payments space. Interns will gain exposure to the tech roles that they may want to pursue with us upon graduation, such as Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, and Business Analytics. They will gain real professional experience working in areas like Application Development, Data Analytics, Infrastructure, Payments, Cybersecurity and Architecture, supporting business projects in an Agile environment.
Together, with committed leaders, supportive managers and an enthusiastic recruiting team, we used the challenge of the current climate to solve for and enhance our summer program. We developed a framework to ensure our interns have the training, networking, and development opportunities they need to succeed as remote interns, and hopefully, as the newest professionals joining our workforce.
While the summer will look different for both Discover and our interns, I expect that it might actually be even better. I am excited to host our interns and to see how we can pave the way for future student hires with the learnings we will have this summer.
About the Author:
Olga Zhornitsky
US Manager, Technology Campus Programs
 www.linkedin.com/in/olgazhornitskyÂ
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