The following blog post was written by Avanade alum Margaret Toich.

When you think of an internship, you might picture the stereotype of a frazzled, college-aged student making sure their manager’s 9:17 AM non-fat, soy, sugar-free vanilla latte is the perfect temperature. I started Avanade this past June and was anxious that I would be that coffee delivery intern. I quickly learned that I was wrong.

Today I have been working on the People Ecosystem team within the HR Talent Community for almost 5 months. During my time, I have been able to take a deep dive into projects that have had a direct and positive impact to employees across the globe. As I pursue my Masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology at Montclair State University, I’ve been able to directly apply my skills and education by recommending appropriate action plans based on industry research and best practice. In this short time, I’ve learned first-hand how critical interns are to the success of Avanade, and just how much they value the contributions we bring to the team.

Recently I was asked to participate in a panel discussion about Avanade’s business initiatives. The moderator asked pointed, thought provoking questions about the industry surrounding the New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Management’s motto “Business with the Power of STEM.” Questions ranged from the life of a consultant to the biggest mistake we have each made during our time at Avanade. During the panel discussion, just over 30 students furiously captured notes as they listened to the facilitated conversation. The discussion itself was moderated by one of Avanade’s 15 for 15 Avanade Scholars, a program that provides young women scholarships to support their pursuit of degrees in STEM-related majors. 

After the panel discussion was over, the fun really started. I stayed and answered students’ questions about Avanade and the intern experience. I felt like I had celebrity status! Nearly a dozen students stayed back to ask me for help, guidance, and advice about engaging with Avanade in the future. They wanted to know about training and development within the company, and new software platforms to know for their field. I was proud to boast Avanade’s dedication to developing its people and offering them the resources they need to succeed. They were happy to hear that I was never a frazzled, coffee-intern!

All of their questions and the way they asked them made me think of one of Avanade’s personality traits--passion. That is exactly what these students showed me when I was talking to them. Their hunger for knowledge, questions on what can make them competitive in the field, and eagerness to learn new tasks really showed me how passionate they are about the industry and Avanade. I am optimistic for the future of Avanade especially if knowledge and information-hungry students like these NJIT students are involved.