️ 🎙️Panel: Insider Tips for How to Land the Internship and Launch Your Career

Land the internship and launch your career graphic with headshots of Giovanna, Garvey, Andrea, and Dr. Wright

Internships can be a game-changer

Internships have a range of positive long-term implications, like higher salaries and more career satisfaction. Internships are an opportunity to gain resume-building work experience, explore different career paths, grow your network – and your confidence! 

Unfortunately, we know there are an array of obstacles in the way of reaching internship opportunities and Hispanic students from 2- and 4-year programs and Black students from 2-year programs are most likely to miss out on internships primarily because they did not apply.  Let’s break down those barriers and change that!  

Insider tips for finding, obtaining, and succeeding in internships

If you are looking to explore your career options, gain mentorship, and get paid while doing it, then this panel is for you. We’re bringing together talent and HR professionals, hiring managers, and former and current interns from across different career fields to share insider tips for finding, obtaining, and succeeding in internships.  

They will answer your questions around topics like: 

  • How internships are within reach and can fit with your schedule and life 
  • How to go about applying for internships 
  • Pitfalls to avoid in internship and job interviews 
  • How to leverage your transferable skills and experiences 
  • How to navigate mentorship and networking 
  • What different internship experiences can look like 

Join us on December 6, 2024 to gain insider tips for finding, securing, and succeeding in your internship and future career. Register and submit your questions in advance. 


🎙️ Online webinar format
🗓️ December 6, 2024
⏰ 12-12:45 p.m. PT/3-3:45 p.m. ET
➡️ Free and open to all

Register for the Panel

Meet the panelists

Moderator

Dr. Kristina Wright, VP of Student Success at Making Waves Education Foundation

Dr. Kristina Wright is the Vice President of Student Success at Making Waves Education Foundation. A West Contra Costa County native with a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC, Dr. Wright leads innovations across coaching, financial, and early career services to improve college and career outcomes for Wave-Makers. Known for her equity-centered approach and data-driven results, she brings a deep commitment to student success.

Panelists

Giovanna Barragan, Student at USC; Marketing and Storytelling Intern at Making Waves Education Foundation

Giovanna Barragan (she/her) is a sophomore at the University of Southern California majoring in NGOs and Social Change. She started interning at Making Waves Education Foundation this past August as a Marketing and Storytelling Intern. This internship has been an awesome opportunity to work on projects that directly impact a community Giovanna deeply cares about. She has been able to learn about marketing strategies, website design, and social media branding. In addition, Giovanna is able to work on many skills such as video editing, graphic design, and writing for storytelling articles. Giovanna says this experience has been super fulfilling to not just learn about her strengths and understand what she would like to do in her future career, but to also continue her interest in creating social change through social media platforms and strategies.

Garvey Buchongo, Run Perception Researcher at Brooks Running; Nonprofit Founder; and Fitness Model

Originally from Hercules, CA, Garvey Buchongo (she/her) is a Run Perception Researcher at Brooks Running and Founder of The Freedom to Run Project, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting health equity in underserved communities through shoe donation, education, and community organization. A Sonoma State University graduate and former collegiate track and field athlete, Garvey combines academic expertise with personal experience to drive meaningful change in the running community. At Brooks, Garvey plays a pivotal role in diversity initiatives as a founding member of Brooks Soul, the Black/African American Employee Resource Group, and helped establish the DEI working group within the Run Research Team. In her research role, she leads efforts to collect and analyze perceptual data from product testers across the nation, providing critical insights that influence product design, fit, and performance to ensure that Brooks’ products meet the needs of all runners. Alongside her career pursuits, Garvey also does fitness modeling and brings a holistic approach to her work, inspired by a family legacy in natural health.

Andrea Rodriguez, Human Resources Program Manager – University Relations at Bloom Energy

Andrea Rodriguez (she/her) supports global university hiring by developing sourcing strategies, and building external relationships with career centers across the globe to find top talent. She brings 5+ years of recruiting and human resources experience to the team, having previously worked in global organizations and high volume global recruiting. Prior to joining Bloom, Andrea recruited entry level roles across multiple universities and organizations including research & development, data science, and software engineering. Andrea now still supports Mechanical, Manufacturing, Electrical and Chemical Engineering roles within the Renewable Energy industry. Andrea works creatively, and has a desire and ambition to become a future business leader, and has a drive for new opportunities and professional development with a passion for DEI.

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About Making Waves Education Foundation

At Making Waves, we are committed to educational equity. Making Waves Education Foundation is a Bay Area nonprofit that supports Making Waves Academy – a public charter school with more than 1,100 5th through 12th grade students – and leads college and career programming with more than 430 college students.​

Knowing the opportunities that come with a college degree, we partner with historically underrepresented and underserved students to help make college affordable and graduation attainable. Centering the journeys of our students, our personalized approach includes college and career coaching, scholarships, and financial planning.​

Our alumni network includes more than 730 college graduates, who earn their degrees and land jobs at more than twice the rate of their first-generation, low-income peers, with 85% graduating debt-free.