Leading by Learning: How an Internship Program Is Enhancing My Leadership Skills
In 2023, University Human Resources launched an internship program developed by staff member Alexa DeFalco. We asked participants in the program to write first-person accounts of their experience in the program for a three-part series. The submission below is the second in the series.
I wish I had a mentor during my senior year as an undergraduate student to discuss life after college, whether I had the skills to land a job and what career path to pursue post-graduation. I felt an enormous mental strain thinking about those things.
I’m now in a position where I can help students navigate the things I was worried about. I manage a student participating in an internship program that University Human Resources offers. The program allows nonmanagers, such as me, to get experience as a manager by supervising an intern. I have participated in the program as a supervisor twice — when the program launched during the 2023-24 academic year and the current academic year.
I value the chance the program provides to be a mentor as well as other opportunities it allows.
I earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2020. I’ve worked as a university program specialist on UHR’s Learning and Organizational Development (L&OD) team for just over two years. I’m passionate about improving the employee experience through engagement, strategy and advocacy. My career goals include using my skills and leadership to fuel that passion. The internship program has allowed me to develop my leadership style and find ways to improve the employee experience directly and indirectly.
I’ve benefited from the internship program just as much as the interns I’ve supervised.
Avery Tuttle
University program specialist
L&OD provides learning opportunities to help NC State employees maximize their professional growth. Our interns have helped produce better class materials for our customers. Our team’s goals are to expose our interns to a professional work environment and provide them with an intern experience that aligns with their career goals. As the person who supervises the interns, I get to ensure the team’s goals are met and help our interns achieve their own goals.
Being the Mentor I Never Had
I love mentoring our interns because I get to talk to them about their professional portfolios, salaries post-graduation, career paths and internship projects. I have helped our interns expand the possibilities of what they thought was possible for themselves through these conversations.
‘I Encourage Our Interns To Show Their Magnificent Work’
Another role I play as the manager of our team’s interns is advocate.
When my team and I discuss projects, I push to let our interns get involved when I know they have the skills to contribute to a project or complete it on their own.
I encourage our interns to show their magnificent work to our team so the group can see the breadth of their capabilities, or I will present the interns’ work for them if they are unavailable.
Tea Covelli, our current intern, recently produced a marketing video for our certificate-earning program, Leadership Education and Development. Covelli didn’t know the process to get the video approved by our communication team, so I advocated on her behalf to get the video approved. I kept her in the loop on emails so she could get familiar with the communication team and the approval process. Covelli later got involved in the email communications about the video as she became more confident with the process. All of this led to a well-made marketing video for our team and the necessary approvals.
Supporting Our Interns’ Work, Celebrating Their Successes
The last major hat that I wear is being a motivator.
I support our interns’ ideas and interests, and I look for ways to encourage them to produce great work.
Covelli will graduate in May and has been applying for jobs. I sat down with her to do a mock interview exercise. After we finished the interview, I highlighted the things she did well during the interview and offered some tips she could use the next time she does a real interview. My goal was to motivate her to keep applying for jobs and reinforce her successes.
I also celebrate our interns’ accomplishments throughout the semester, from figuring out how to use software, such as Final Cut Pro, to getting into graduate school.
How I’ve Benefited From the Internship Program
I’ve benefited from the internship program just as much as the interns I’ve supervised.
I’ve had to be flexible because sometimes I’ve had to change my workday plans to accommodate an intern’s needs
My emotional intelligence has improved because I’ve had to be aware of how our interns handle the constant highs and lows of the workplace.
The program has helped me learn what kind of leader I want to be. Most importantly, I’ve learned things I want to avoid as a leader and things I can work to improve. The internship program has been a great learning experience, and I am pleased that I’ve had two opportunities to participate.
Avery Tuttle
University Program Specialist
Learning and Organizational Development, University Human Resources
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