With the focus in colleges and high schools becoming more internship-based, itâs important to recognize the hard work and dedication that goes into being an intern and having a successful internship program. On Wednesday, those efforts were recognized at the 12th annual IMPACT Awards Luncheon.
Indiana INTERNnet hosts this event to recognize interns, career development professionals and employers for having an impact in the internship arena. The theme for this yearâs event was âWild About Workforce Development.â
The luncheon featured Chris Heeter, founder of The Wild Institute located in Minnesota, as the keynote speaker. Heeter detailed how important it is for employees, employers, and interns to be âwildâ in the workplace and make an impact in their positions.
“Being wild is having the courage to bring the gift of all of who you are to all of what you do,” Heeter said.
Heeter also explained how important it is for a workplace to function as a team by comparing it to her experiences with training dogs for dogsledding. She mentioned utilizing the different personalities and skill sets of each dog to create a cohesive and efficient team.
“We are in this together and we need our leaders to go the same direction around obstacles,” Heeter said.
There were a record number of interns nominated for the Intern of the Year awards (college, high school and non-traditional). Additionally, awards were given for Career Development Professional of the Year, and Employer of the Year in both the non-profit and for-profit sector.
The award winners included the following:
College Intern of the Year: Jerica Mitchell (Indiana Minority Health Coalition, Inc.; Indiana State University)
High School Intern of the Year: Camisa Vines (South Bend Code School; John Adams High School)
Non-Traditional Intern of the Year: Miranda Goodwin (Wabash Valley Community Foundation)
Career Development Professional of the Year: Nathan Milner (Indiana Wesleyan University)
Employer of the Year (For-profit): Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance (Indianapolis)
Employer of the Year (Non-profit): Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem (South Bend)
For more information on the winners and a list of the nominees, click here to read the Indiana Chamber of Commerceâs press release.
Stay tuned for photos from the event on our Facebook page!
