We just kicked off our second year of our GIG internship program! This signature program combines Xtern's deep roots in our community through volunteer & civic organizations with our desire to provide greater professional pathways to our local college graduates.
Our key partners are Campus Greensboro via their Summer Fellows program, UNCG Career & Professional Development, the City of Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department, and several local employers.
We learned a ton during our first year of the program and are looking forward to continuing to grow and enhance GIG! For year two, the program consists of:
- A 10-week paid summer internship at Xtern Software with professional development and mentorship opportunities via Campus Greensboro. Students must apply and be accepted through Campus Greensboro to participate in the internship.
- Real-world software development and collaboration with seasoned industry professionals via a paid technology service project for the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department. Technology service project work will take place during the summer internship. The project has two workstreams:
1. A public-facing dashboard that aggregates all kinds of data about the City of Greensboro's rec centers, helping the department demonstrate its value to various stakeholders, such as city council, grant-making agencies, and the public: https://gigsgso.com/
2. An employee-facing survey platform that department employees can use to easily create surveys to capture data in circumstances where there is a dearth of information. Having more data would demonstrate ROI for facilities, programs, and events, which is especially helpful for the department's national accreditation.
- Exposure to Greensboro employers and networking opportunities with SynerG and UNCG Career & Professional Development. This includes sessions with career counselors and informational interview matching. A huge professional development opportunity last year was also the chance to present the project to the Parks & Rec leadership team.
- The opportunity to earn an additional stipend to help with tuition upon successful completion of the summer internship itself.
We're excited to have our two new GIG interns on board and see how they enhance the project as well as the overall GIG experience!