Throughout the 2019-2020 internship year, our Genesys Works young professionals and their supervisors have demonstrated more creativity and perseverance than we ever could have imagined! No matter what challenges this year provided, they stepped up to the task at hand and continued to create meaningful internship experiences. This June, as we wrap up our school year internships and transition into training our new class of students, we wanted to remind you of all our featured interns and supervisors!

2019-2020 Featured Interns

David Kanyinku, CWT

David’s supervisor Jonathan was impressed by David’s initiative to learn the more technical components of his work. David took ownership of his own learning, and demonstrated leadership and presentation skills right away in his internship.

Maria with her supervisor at Andersen Corporation

Maria Marin Mena, Andersen Corporation

Maria showed strong project management skills, and was able to utilize her organization and communication skills to own the implementation of multiple projects – all with a positive attitude!

Suleyman Osman, M.A. Mortenson Company

Suleyman’s can-do attitude and curiosity led to a detailed exploration of all kinds of different IT career paths and a willingness to jump into any project where he was needed. His supervisor Katrena valued this curiosity and ability to provide value to the team in multiple ways.

Caroline Hopcia, Xcel Energy

As a college intern, Caroline felt the freedom to take ownership of her work and drive her internship experience, while still relying on the guidance and mentorship of her supervisor Shawn.

Catherine Nguyen, Medtronic

Catherine demonstrated a strong work ethic and set challenging goals for herself, and impressed her supervisor Tammy when she met those goals every time! Where is she now? Catherine has been a valued member of her team at Medtronic and will continue to work remotely throughout the summer. She plans to attend the University of Minnesota in fall and was just accepted into the Genesys Works Class of 2020 Talent Development Pipeline (TDP).

Natnael Woldeyes, Patterson Companies

Natnael (Natty) invested in his own professional development by setting goals and taking advantage of all the opportunities his supervisor Rob offered. He specifically committed to working on his communication skills and impressed Rob with his dedication to his personal and professional growth. Where is he now? Natty is working on new, remote projects on the E-Commerce team at Patterson, and plans to attend Augsburg in the fall as an Act Six scholar. He was recently accepted into Genesys Works Class of 2020 Talent Development Pipeline (TDP).

Kinza with her supervisor at CHS, Inc.

Kinza Ahmed, CHS, Inc.

Kinza brought a unique perspective that combined her confidence as a successful college intern with her enthusiasm to continue trying new things as an IT quality assurance intern. Where is she now? When Kinza’s summer internship plans changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the team at CHS found a new, challenging role for her as a Security Analyst on the Information Risk Management team this summer!

Esella Beison, Boston Scientific

Esella’s ability to be a leader to her other Genesys Works peers and desire to overcome the challenges she faced led to a strong relationship with her supervisor, Kendra, and a mastery of her work as a call center agent.

Special Shout Out to our #IsolationInnovation Featured interns, who each shared how they’re demonstrating professionalism and work ethic in their remote work: Victor Vang (TCF Bank), Julia Lucyk (Target), and Jennifer Santiago (Thomson Reuters).

2019-2020 Featured Supervisors

Adrianne VanSpeybroeck, Ameriprise Financial

From day one of the internship, Adrianne provided valuable professional development resources to her inter and modeled passion and drive for her career in all their interactions. Where is she now? Adrianne is remotely supervising her intern Andy, and her guidance has helped him identify a future studying computer science at the University of Minnesota!

Ming Tan, CaringBridge

As a supervisor, Ming identified expectations and his vision for projects, and let his intern Meghan handle the rest! This instilled trust and independence that allowed Meghan to learn and master the quality assurance testing projects she works on.

Mandy with her intern Brandon at Best Buy

​Mandy French, Best Buy

Mandy’s team-focused approach helped Brandon feel connected to Best Buy and his work right away. Mandy encouraged Brandon to learn from and build relationships with his whole team, and she created a network of people for him to lean on and learn from. Where is she now? Mandy is supervising Brandon in his remote work and has volunteered to share her advice and experiences on our Genesys Works Supervisor Webinar call!

Shawn Waldinger, Xcel Energy

Shawn supported his college intern, Caroline, in identifying unique professional development opportunities that included interviewing a CEO and speaking on panels.

Tammy Lauer, Medtronic

Tammy helped Catherine feel comfortable and confident on her team right away, and created a work environment that encouraged Catherine to share her ideas openly.

Rob Collier, Patterson Company

Rob not only provided meaningful work projects to his intern Natty, but also invested in his professional development. He encouraged Natty to take part in both company-wide opportunities and individual professional growth.

Keith with his intern Genuine at Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Keith Ilenda, Land O’Lakes

Keith’s intern Genuine wanted to share his gratitude for Keith and the way he made him feel like a full-fledged member of the team right away. Keith has a unique approach that balances joking and team-building with meaningful work and challenging projects. Where is he now? Keith is currently supervising Genuine while he works on the help desk remotely. His guidance helped Genuine decide to attend the University of Minnesota in the fall and get accepted into the Genesys Works Class of 2020 Talent Development Pipeline (TDP).

Brad Schlangen, Allina Health

Brad was able to leverage his intern Bontu’s interest in healthcare to demonstrate the meaningfulness of her IT work, and he focused on building a relationship that went above and beyond their work.