Genesys Works Twin Cities is grateful to have more than 200 supervisors in our network of devoted IT and business professionals that support and mentor our young professionals. In our December installment of the 2019-2020 Making Internships Meaningful series, we recognize Mandy French, a supervisor at Best Buy, for her commitment to welcoming her intern, Brandon Vi, onto her team.
Mandy values Brandon’s input and pushes him out of his comfort zone. At Genesys Works, we know it takes and effort to help our young professionals feel like part of the team. Brandon admits that he’s quiet – “I know I haven’t been quite the chatterbox, but I will get there soon!” – but he knows that Mandy cares for and welcomes his voice and opinion. “I am not afraid to speak up and ask for help.” Not only does she make herself available for questions and support him with compassion, she’s made sure that Brandon feels comfortable speaking up and pitching in his own thoughts. She pushes Brandon to engage with other Genesys Works interns, the team at Best Buy, and even teams in other departments. During this busy season at Best Buy, these relationships have helped him feel (and perform!) like a full member of the team.
Mandy has built a village of support so that Brandon’s support system extends beyond his supervisor. As Brandon’s supervisor, Mandy knows she is Brandon’s go-to when it comes to problem-solving, feedback, and management, but she also knows that she doesn’t need to be his only resource. Instead, she’s created a network for Brandon that goes beyond herself and extends to the entire team. Brandon explained, “Each person on my team teaches me something different, and I love knowing how diverse in skills and cultural background my team is.” Brandon knows that he can rely on others and that he’s got the confidence and support of an entire team, not just his supervisor: “Knowing that there are others who care about my success in this internship makes me feel empowered, and it reassures me that I can do it if I try and work hard.”
We are grateful to have supervisors like Mandy who are committed to compassionately supporting their interns by welcoming them fully into the fabric of their team and company.
Genesys Works Twin Cities has more than 310 amazing young professionals in our program – engaged and motivated interns working towards career success in their future. For our December Making Internships Meaningful feature, we are recognizing Suleyman Osman, a senior at Hopkins High School and Mortensen intern. Suleyman’s supervisor, Katrena Proffitt, nominated Suleyman because of his enthusiastic attitude and strong work ethic.
Suleyman brings enthusiasm and unending curiosity to his internship. Suleyman started his internship with excitement and eagerness to learn what it means to be an information technology professional. Most of our young professionals only have an inkling of what the corporate world looks like when they start their internship, but Suleyman’s excitement and curiosity are helping him explore multiple professional career paths. That excitement isn’t fading, and a strong curiosity for his own career development is forming fast. Katrena explained that over the last three months, Suleyman has begun exploring a handful of career avenues and has “become really curious as to what are all of his options. He has really taken advantage of all the areas he could potentially explore as part of the internship.” And as Suleyman says, “this has been a jumpstart to my career path.”
Suleyman is a rock of dependability and consistency. It can be easy for work ethic to ebb and flow with interest and mood. But according to Katrena, Suleyman brings positivity and focus to his work each day, regardless of the task or project. He has “an excellent attention to detail, a willingness to jump in where needed, and the ability to quickly pivot from one task to another if priorities change.” All of these qualities are key to succeeding in a fast-paced, team-oriented professional work environment. Suleyman is showing that he can flex these muscles with success and produce results, which has helped him develop a strong sense of self-esteem. According to Suleyman, “I feel like I’ve learned quite a lot in my internship because there is so much hidden potential that I never knew I had in myself.”
Suleyman has demonstrated so many critical pieces of being a successful intern, but he also knows how beneficial this experience is for him too! Genesys Works is proud to support interns like Suleyman in their own personal growth while also providing value to our corporate partners
