Until she accepted an internship at EMC (which later integrated with Dell), Meg Evangelista’s background was all about higher education. Dell was her first business internship, and before she started, she was worried that she’d be just another intern at the world’s largest IT company.
Today, Meg is Dell’s College Program Manager, focusing on university relations. As part of her job, she leads her company’s summer intern program, making sure hundreds of interns a year have the same (or an even better) experience she had as a Dell intern. She also leads Dell’s campus ambassador program and diversity program initiatives.
Here’s how Meg made a big impact at a company of over 100,000 employees.
Making Connections and Changing Perceptions
“During my internship, I knew security desk team members, executives, and teammates outside of my immediate organization,” says Meg. “It’s important to me to not be ‘just another number.” And even though Dell is a big company, she knows she can make a name for herself by supporting managers, interns, leaders, and teammates. In fact, seeing how easy it was to build those relationships made her hesitations about a big company disappear and helped her see herself at Dell long-term.
Growing Responsibilities
When Meg started as an EMC intern, she spent most of her time focusing on the company’s summer internship program. She organized networking opportunities for the interns, helped them with professional development, and arranged speaking sessions so they had a chance to meet with company executives.
At the end of her internship, Meg received a full-time offer from EMC, where her responsibilities grew to include overseeing initiatives like the company’s campus ambassador program and diversity programs. But the real change happened in the fall of last year, when the two companies merged to form Dell EMC. When that happened, the internship program that Meg oversaw nearly doubled in size.
That shift presented an amazing opportunity for Meg, who dove head-first into merging the two programs, working to create an amazing experience for all interns, regardless of their functional area or location.
The Secret to Standing Out
Meg didn’t just share her experience with us. She also shared advice for standing out at a company as big as Dell. “Adaptability is key,” she says. “My role requires me to wear many different hats. Some days, I come into the office and check off each item on my to-do list. Other days, I know by 9:15 in the morning that my day is going to look very different than I planned.”
She’s also worked hard to become the go-to resource on Dell’s internship program and has taken on more responsibilities to keep growing at the company. Working on Dell’s diversity program and collaborating with the brand team to promote opportunities and programs for college students are just two of the things she’s taken on since joining Dell as an intern.
Supporting Future Interns
“It’s intimidating to enter a new company for 12 weeks and onboard quickly enough to produce meaningful work,” she says. Since Meg was an intern herself, she knows that feeling well and uses it to her advantage when welcoming each new intern class. “I want to give interns the tools and resources to determine if Dell is the right fit for them—whether they return to Dell full-time or pursue other opportunities.”
But she couldn’t do it alone. Dell has a global internship program and Meg’s team spans the United States and Canada. To make sure every intern her team works with has a great experience (whether they work in her office or not) she partners with team members in other locations who serve as local contacts for each intern. For Meg, there’s nothing like getting a note from an intern or manager that mentions their positive experience.
Coming Full-Circle
Most of us, like Meg, had (or have) certain ideas about what it would mean to work for a big company. Now, Meg has made it her mission to show others that a big team can also mean a big impact. “On their first day, I tell interns that they’re extremely fortunate to be a part of the world’s largest IT company,” she says. “They have the resources and support of a large business, and the personal touch of a small startup.”
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