Pinball machines and a ping-pong table complementing software development deadlines may not be what you’d expect. But every job culture is different. Undergraduates are discovering just that – and learning where they’ll best thrive.

Xtern Software was the morning’s first stop on UNCG’s mid-summer “internships trek,” providing opportunity for UNCG staff to see interns in their day-to-day settings. This Greensboro company’s interns are all UNCG students, and more than 75% of their staff are Spartan alumni.

“We’ve had paid internships here since the very beginning. I’m very pro education, but I’m pro experience, too,” says Keir Davis ’00 MS, a computer science master’s graduate who created the company. “If you blend the two with having an internship, you have a really good chance of being successful.”

Andrea Bonola ’24 turned her 2023 internship there into a full-time developer position. A Penn School of the Arts graduate from High Point, she’s “a fan of giving back to the community,” and this business fits the bill. Its community service, where each employee teaches computer literacy at the United Way’s Family Success Centers, has earned accolades. She and Dom Simmons ’23, whose workspace is near hers – both of them with their backs to a Donkey Kong console and KISS pinball machine when a break is warranted – liked how they were able to “use all their muscles” in their internships.

Simmons at first did front-end work, but told Davis that design was an interest. “He allowed me to start making mockups, UI/UX (user interface/user experience) type things,” Simmons says. “I thought that was pretty cool – that I was not limited to what I was hired on for, but I got to branch off.”

Later stops on the internships trek included O.Henry Hotel, where rising junior Jasmyne Caudle learns different facets of the hotel business – mostly working with customers at the front desk. It’s part of her 600 internship hours that are mandatory for the Bryan School’s hospitality and tourism majors and complements two other summer jobs, so she can graduate with as little debt as possible. She loves bringing joy, she enjoys everything about travel and hotels, and her winning smile lights up the oak-paneled room.

At the final destination, Action Greensboro’s downtown office, Campus Greensboro fellows Ashley Oliva, a senior in finance and marketing, and recent graduate Mykaila Brown ’24 (sociology/WGSS) glow about the connections they’ve made over the summer. Student Engagement Manager Mary-Helen Kolousek ’23, who was a UNCG business administration and marketing major, noted that 27 of the summer’s fellows were Spartans – a new record.

bigpicture

New, cutting-edge academic programs are coming online across campus designed to meet student demand as well as current market and community needs. Our focus remains on preparing our students to be career and life ready upon graduation.  

The nexus of innovative offerings and collaborative partnerships is taking shape as the University leans into our next strategic plan. In short, it’s our emerging blueprint to improve how we deliver access to excellence in education. Done well, it will ensure more students, families, and communities experience the life-changing impact of a UNCG degree. 

We’re proud to live the values of our legacy and our mission. By rising to meet fast-changing needs, UNCG is making sure the next generation will fulfill its greatest potential.