The 6th annual Lehigh Valley Internship Summit provided countless opportunities for learning and connection. Among the trending topics in internships discussed at the summit was the importance of and best practices for supporting interns beyond their assigned company projects. 
The summit, presented by Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC) in partnership with Lehigh Valley colleges and universities, was held July 23 at DeSales University. About 110 leaders in business and education attended.
Katelyn Mack, President of LINC, moderated a “Supporting the Whole Intern” panel discussion by Cheryl Hopkins, Director – Tax, at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA); Emma MacIsaac, former intern and now Associate – Tax at CLA; Caroline Ferreri, Talent Acquisition Partner at Crayola; and Liz Krasinski, R+D Product Development Co-op at Crayola.
Hopkins and Ferreri explained how the policies and procedures around internships have evolved at their respective companies, while MacIsaac and Krasinski provided a window into their internship and co-op experiences and what has made them successful.
According to Hopkins, assigning interns meaningful projects goes a long way toward making them feel valued.
“They’re not interested in counting your paper clips,” she said. “Interns today, they’re looking for meaningful responsibilities; they’re coming for a meaningful experience.”
Hopkins also emphasized the importance of pairing interns with a mentor who is accessible and gives constructive feedback so interns can develop as professionals and individuals. MacIsaac confirmed the importance of mentorship.
“Some of the most impactful aides in my journey as an intern were the peer advisors and supervisors that I was directly connected with, who helped me acquire both soft and hard skills,” she said.
MacIsaac said that as an intern, she was invited to participate in events hosted by the Young Advisory Council (YAC) at CLA, which serves as a liaison between more senior leadership and new associates and interns. This led her to join activities inside and outside the office. Today, MacIsaac serves on the Young Advisory Council as a new associate.
Ferreri stressed the need to appeal to the expectations of the incoming generation of interns, many of whom completed much of their learning remotely. She believes that accommodating interns helps them to have a great experience.
Currently, Crayola has a hybrid set up — employees are on site for a minimum of two days a week — but if interns want to be on site more often to do more hands-on work, there are spaces for them.
“We want to make our internships customizable,” Ferreri stated. “It’s really important to assess your intern individually instead of the entire group as one.”
Krasinski cited purpose-driven volunteer opportunities provided by Crayola as positively impacting her co-op experience. She has harvested vegetables for local communities from Edwin’s Garden, a community garden built by Crayola that grows fresh produce for families in need in the Lehigh Valley. Opportunities like this help Krasinski to feel connected to the community and to the company where she co-ops. Krasinski also echoed MacIsaac’s feelings on mentorship. Asked for one piece of advice for employers in the audience who wanted to improve their internship programs, she referenced increased opportunities for mentorship.
“The most valuable experience that I’ve had at Crayola is the mentorship program,” she said.
The intern voice was a welcome addition to the summit, since considering the needs and expectations of interns is so necessary to creating successful internship programs, participants said in anonymous surveys about their experiences.
“Excellent presentation and I loved hearing from current interns about their experiences,” said one participant about the “Supporting the Whole Intern” panel.
The Host Sponsor of the Internship Summit was DeSales University. Penn State Lehigh Valley was a Gold Sponsor. Silver Sponsors were Barry Isett & Associates, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Manufacturers Resource Center, and Univest.
The keynote presentation, “Generations in the Workplace,” was delivered by Dr. Nicole Loyd, Executive Vice President for University Life, Chief Operating Officer, and Dean of Students at Moravian University.
Dr. Carl Sheperis, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at Kutztown University, presented: “The intersection of AI and Internships: Opportunities and Challenges.”
A second panel discussion, “Alternatives to Internships,” was moderated by Mercedes Kopack, Freizer at C.F. Martin & Co., with panelists Toby Borcoman, Chief People Officer & VP of HR at Tyber Medical LLC; Nick Tenzycki, Manufacturing Specialist at Tyber Medical LLC; Louis Holzman, Director of Business Development at Altitude Marketing; and Jonathan Manning, Marketing Automation Coordinator at Altitude Marketing.
It explored opportunities such as job shadowing, co-ops, and externships that may be more suitable for some students and roles, providing career exploration and forging connections with employers.
Read more about the Lehigh Valley Internship Summit here, and look for another article soon about the event.
The summit is supplemented by a published Internship Resource Guide that includes a directory of internship contacts at Lehigh Valley colleges, universities, and technical schools.
(Photos by Rick Kintzel)