Calvin Students Discover Opportunities Through Internships
Throughout the academic year, students at Calvin University engage in internships across many fields. In doing so, they learn invaluable on-the-job skills and make connections that sometimes lead to future job prospects. Many students find these experiential learning opportunities through one of their professors or a staff member in the university’s career center.
This summer, we caught up with four Calvin students to hear about how their experience at Calvin prepared them well for their internship this summer and how their internship experience is now shaping their future.
Sophia Pani
Sophia Pani is a double major in applied economics and business analytics who is heading into her senior year. This summer, she is serving as a summer analyst for the external investing group of Goldman Sachs.
Pani’s work this summer involves conducting operational due diligence on alternative investment managers across various asset classes, including hedge funds, private equity, public equity, and real estate.
“It was invaluable to sit in on meetings with these managers and gain insights into their business and investment processes,” said Pani.
She also collaborated with her team to create a cybersecurity framework for their internal repository and researched and summarized recent SEC regulations impacting numerous hedge fund advisers over the past year.
“I initially applied to Goldman Sachs based on the encouragement from my professors and advisors,” said Pani. “The support from Calvin's Career Center was instrumental in refining my resume and sharpening my interview skills. Most importantly, I am grateful for the invaluable education I received from Calvin University, which not only equipped me with essential business skills but also helped shape my character, leadership abilities, and teamwork skills.
“[Through this internship] I am expanding my knowledge about the financial industry by learning from some of the best in this business,” said Pani. “I am building meaningful relationships during my internship, uncovering my potential, and adding value to my team and the company.”
Dafna Heule
Dafna Heule is an engineering major (mechanical concentration) heading into her junior year. This summer, she is interning with GTF Technologies, which operates a 2-1 milling and drying system that micronizes byproducts of the food processing industry.
“I am learning many new things, whether that's through an exploratory project beyond my knowledge base or becoming comfortable with new power tools and equipment,” said Heule. “Sometimes it's a bit paralyzing when you don't know what you're doing but tackling the problem anyways—no matter the outcome—I think will be formative for how I handle situations in the future.
“I didn't know anything about the food industry before working at GTF: how it's engineered, processed, and wasted (and how much moisture content matters). The knowledge I've gained has expanded my worldview on food, which is very present in my daily life. It is sickening to learn about the amount of waste that is generated from a world-hunger and environmental standpoint. I'm grateful to work for a company that is aiming to mitigate that crisis, and I hope as a consumer that I can make a difference as well.”
Jordan Vanderkamp
Jordan Vanderkamp is a marketing and environmental studies double major heading into his senior year. This summer, he is working as a product sustainability marketing intern at Steelcase, a global furniture manufacturing company.
“Calvin has prepared me for my Steelcase internship through a lot of my marketing classes where we get to work on cases with clients and help them solve their problems and find solutions to questions that they have for us,” said Vanderkamp.
Vanderkamp appreciates the opportunity and responsibility of working for a large global company in his field where every decision has “huge ramifications.”
“Because we are a manufacturer, every part that we can make better, every small piece of a product that has more recycled content, every ton of carbon that we can avoid, just has such a huge impact because the entire customer base that we serve is so large,” said Vanderkamp. “So, it's really impactful to be able to serve with that big of a team already as an intern and to know that the work that I do can really help. It really keeps me interested in it.”
Jinha Chung
Jinha Chung is an engineering major (civil and environmental concentrations) heading into her junior year. This summer, Chung is interning in the engineering department of the City of Wyoming. Her responsibilities span both office and field work, which has proven to be instrumental in helping her discern a future career.
“I learned more about my preferences of work environment and culture. This internship allowed me to experience what the real-world engineering job looks like including the daily office work and the field work,” said Chung. “It also allowed me to see what kind of work environment I enjoy more.”
Chung says she realized she likes going out in the field to see how the plans and calculations she went over in the office are put into practice and enjoys working with small groups of people. She also appreciates learning both the technical skills that apply directly to her field and the soft skills that are useful for any career.
“I acquired a skill of managing my time and finishing the assigned tasks on my own. Since I can work on whatever tasks I am assigned with whenever I want during my internship period, I am the one who must supervise my own time and work. This is a necessary skill as a student or for any work position, I can get in the future,” said Chung. “This internship also allowed me to learn how to organize things, not only organizing important documents into drive/folders but also organizing my thoughts and opinions into words when communicating with my co-intern or supervisor. These organizing and communication skills will allow me to better represent myself in my future jobs.