As the summer comes to an end and I, along with other students, trudge our way back to school, I realize that this summer has been unlike any other. From unforgettable study abroad programs across the world, and summer jobs, to internships both local and far— school may come to a halt, but it is clear that our professional development has not. We all have an idea of what career path we want to follow, whether it be the journalism, medical, business or science and technology fields. The path I chose to follow is business and information technology. Interning at UDig was a stellar opportunity to gain experience in this field. The thought that I would have many more opportunities to grow my network, focus myself in sales, and learn more about technology, excited me. Sophomore year at Virginia Tech treated me well, and as I approach my final days here before I head back, I decided to take a minute to reflect on what this amazing company and community of people have taught me in these past 13 weeks.
As I began my time here, UDig was in the process of beginning to change the customer relationship management (CRM) software for the sales team. I played a crucial role in processing and cleaning up the data in the old CRM, which enabled a smooth transition to Salesforce. In addition to this, I sat in on weekly calls and created many excel sheets of our five main categories of information that would be transferred to the new CRM. Those daily tasks taught me a lot about the capabilities of Bullhorn and Salesforce, such as managing our contacts, creating leads and the sales process.
Since last summer there’s definitely been some changes in the growth of the company. Not only have we added more employees, but we have shifted more into technology consulting practice, pushing UDig to open their new Innovation Studio. Because of this I began to learn more about our four practice areas: data, engineering, innovation and digital which will help me immensely as I begin my technology classes in the fall.
This summer, UDig celebrated its 15th anniversary, which made this internship extra exciting. Although I have worked at UDig for only two summers, I am still nevertheless extremely honored to be a part of this milestone. To celebrate 15 years of business, I helped coordinate our 15 days of giving to local foundations and organizations by helping choose organizations and delivering our donations. I’ve always admired businesses that give back to the community, and I luckily found myself to be a part of one.
UDig is one big family; together, we have harvested an environment of care and kindness and we have supported each other through the inevitable ups and downs of our careers. Sometimes people come and go but you will remain close and support them in their careers. This summer I came into this internship not knowing much about IT consulting and the sales process, but now I’m proudly leaving knowing (almost) everything! My experience at UDig has given me a better idea about what I want to do with my career and setting goals for myself to achieve where I want to be. I also have learned (through experience) that the barista at Starbucks will know your name after quite a few caffeine runs.
So thank you, UDig. Thank you for putting this internship experience above and beyond my expectations. “The Rook” hopes to be back again next summer!
By Kensely Watkins
