It feels like just yesterday we posted our advice for new interns, yet in the blink of an eye, we are closing in on the conclusion of our 2022 summer internship program. At TD SYNNEX, more than 40 brilliant minds joined the ranks of our 22,000 co-workers and made an immediate impact on the strategies, processes, and most importantly, the fresh perspective needed to drive innovation.

While 11 weeks may seem like a short amount of time, I can speak from my past internship that those are 11 of the most formidable weeks of my entire career. I reached out to several of our 2022 interns to learn if they echoed my sentiment. Here were their responses

What was your biggest takeaway?

“Despite this internship being short, I’ve learned a lot about myself, my skills and abilities, and what my future can possibly look like. I’ve gained a lot of hands on, real world experience working on a team for a huge corporation in a unique position. I’ve been thrown a few curveballs, learned how to create professional relationships, and developed new skills that will help me as I grow in my career.” — Veronica Martinez

“I was able to see how a corporate office works. It was interesting to see that it was not a high-stress environment. Things all seemed to be relaxed and people really enjoy working for this company.” — Liz Lowe

“Being able to see how all the departments interact with each other. This is my first time working for a large, global company so it was great to see how all teams and departments feed off of each other.” — Samantha Gilfand

What would you change if you could do it all over again?

“Make more connections across the team and set up more time to chat to get to know who I was working with. People come from all different backgrounds and experiences so getting to know who they are as a person outside of work is really nice.” — Jess Budin

“Coming in with more confidence in myself and my abilities. I came into this internship feeling very nervous because I felt like I was going to mess something up or feeling like I am not qualified with the right skills to complete my projects. This attitude has affected my ability to really showcase my skills and the things I am capable of achieving. By changing my attitude towards myself and my abilities, I believe I would have a better opportunity for personal success and growth within my internship position.” — Veronica

“I wish I had gone into the office a bit more just to meet more people. I think it would have been nice to have the chance to see more of the interns in person and really get to know them that way.” — Liz

What’s one thing that surprised you?

“I was not expecting how many coworkers from around the world I would be working with on a daily basis, but am grateful to experience such a diverse workforce.” — Talia Helmus

“I was not expecting the executive series and the intern bonding sessions which made it seem like a company that cared.” — Jared Dorman

“One of my bigger projects was a rebranding project for the company. It wasn’t until I started working on the project that I realized just how big of a project it was going to be. Not only that, but I was surprised to discover that I was going to be the lead for this project. As someone who has never been in a lead role, let alone a role where I am leading co-workers who have been with the company for years, this was very intimidating to me. However, even though I was caught by surprise with the degree of responsibility I would have for this project, I got the opportunity to expand on a skillset that I was not comfortable with, and gained experience and comfortability with being in a leadership role.” — Veronica

How does this internship prepare you as you start your career?

“This experience has helped me gain some clarity on what I would like to do as a career. Prior to this internship, I was unsure of how I wanted to use my degree and minor. Upon graduating in May, I was very set on finding a company that would allow me to utilize my business degree, as well as my Peace and Justice minor. I was selected to be the intern of a department that I had never heard about before, yet soon realized the department I was placed into aligns very well with my degree and my own personal values of social justice. In other words, I believe I truly found a career that I could see myself in long term past the internship.” — Veronica

“The experience helps illustrate that executives and higher-ups are people to and are more than willing to meet with you as a new employee and take time to talk to you.” — Jared

“I was able to see exactly how a corporation worked together on projects which gives me more information when it is time for me to start my professional career. It gives me more information which makes decision making a little bit easier.” — Liz

What’s your best piece of advice for next year’s intern class?

“Just because your title is one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t help out in other areas of your interests.” — Jess

“Believe in yourself, trust yourself, and recognize that you were chosen to be here for a reason.” — Veronica

“Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and take the time to figure out difficult tasks on your own before asking for guidance.” — Talia

“[Find] a company that cares about its interns and reach out to people to talk about what they do and what they like about the company. You might find another role in the company that you would enjoy doing more than the current role you are interning in.” — Jared

“Take the time to meet your fellow interns. No one else is in a better position to relate to you professionally and personally because you are all at the same time in your lives.” — Liz

“Network with as many co-workers as you can and to be proactive with your projects and helping out.” — Samantha

Thank you Jess, Veronica, Talia, Jared, Liz and Samantha for being a part of this conversation and for making such a meaningful impact at TD SYNNEX this summer. To learn more about student and recent graduate opportunities, visit our careers site.