Editor’s Note: This blog was authored by summer marketing communications intern Josie Golka, a senior advertising and public relations major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
This May, ES&S welcomed 12 interns to its Omaha corporate headquarters to begin a summer of collaboration, growth and experimentation. While the interns brought fresh energy and perspective, they also embarked on an experience of hands-on learning and professional development.
Program growth
This year’s intern class brought 10 new faces to ES&S, along with two returning interns. But the new faces weren’t all that was new this year: positions in human resources and business operations opened new opportunities.
While ES&S has welcomed a class of 12 interns the past two summers, the program began with just a few software developers and no real program structure, according to Vicki Sloan, vice president of shared services.
Efforts to ramp up the program began in 2021, when ES&S added finance positions and hired program coordinator Tiffany Tatreau, who became a crucial leader and resource for the interns during their time at ES&S.
According to Tatreau, she spent much of that year trying new things to see what stuck.
Madi Haddix, 2022 software development intern and current UX engineer II, said that while the first summer may have been a whirlwind, it taught her more than her entire college career.
Haddix saw the internship program evolve into its current structure since her intern summer.
“There is a lot more variety and we have a lot more structure,” Haddix said. “The interns know what they’re doing and what they want to accomplish.”
Sloan said that as the company has added new positions and structure over the past four years, the program has evolved from functional to transformative.
Now, Tatreau, along with executive and department leaders spends months recruiting, planning and shaping the internship experience to provide value for the company and interns alike.
“All of a sudden, people can’t imagine a world without the interns, because they come in and do these meaningful projects, and those projects are valuable,” Sloan said.
This summer, returning interns Sowmya Bandari and Sam Baumert said the program continues to evolve, offering more events and project opportunities.
Bandari, a quality assurance automation intern and master’s graduate in software engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said she chose to return because of ES&S’ investment in each intern and the opportunity to take on a new project her second summer.
Baumert, a software development intern and senior software engineering major at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, stayed on as a part-time intern between his summer programs. Baumert said the addition of new events, team structure and development projects made the summer of 2025 even better than the last.
“I’m assuming it’s just going to get better every year,” Baumert said. “This year we have cooler events and we have different intern positions, which gives us more opportunities.”
Finding value
Interns don’t just grow their own careers; they help grow the company during their time at ES&S. Developing the interns also gives the company a chance to gather new ideas, learn about the youngest members of the workforce and build a quality talent pool.
“Both new energy and a new way of doing things can enable a current team to do things differently,” Sloan said.
That’s why ES&S values giving out real work, not “scrap work,” according to Baumert — interns get a look into what it’s really like to be a full-time employee in their chosen field.
“One of the best features about our internship is that they are meaningful projects,” Sloan said. “A student comes in who may have no experience, gets to get their hands dirty.”
Haddix got her hands on real projects during her intern summer. The first time Haddix saw something she developed in the field, she knew she wanted to stick around full-time.
Makenna Waldusky, a legal clerk and rising third-year law student at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, said her summer projects gave her real-world legal experience that she fused with cybersecurity knowledge she gained during her time in the Air Force.
“It allowed me to use the best of both of my talents,” Waldusky said. “Yes, I’m looking at it from a legal perspective, but I have a cybersecurity background, so I can look at it through both lenses.”
For the software development team, the real team structure and project development have been unlike any other classroom experience. The group of five interns has spent the summer developing a new software feature.
“Everyone is just as motivated as the next person to get our project as complete and quality as possible,” Baumert said.
Daniel Bird, software development intern and master’s student in artificial intelligence at Georgia Technical University, earned a full-time position as a software engineer I. Bird valued the contributions of experienced ES&S developers to the interns’ learning.
“We can actually go to other developers here and ask specific questions, which speeds up the process and gives us a look at how it actually works within the company environment,” Bird said.
Ryan Beeson, UI/UX development intern and junior graphic design student at Appalachian State University, said the project allowed him to put his creative skills into action.
Business operations and marketing interns Will Hickman, Teddy Peterson and Josie Golka also got the chance to accompany account managers on site visits with customers.
While Petersen got to accompany the sales team to a demonstration in Virginia, Hickman had the opportunity to present on artificial intelligence to the executive team.
Morgan Baker, human resources intern and senior human resources management major at the University of Nebraska – Omaha, said her internship allowed her to explore the different roles within her degree path.
Bandari said hands-on opportunities at ES&S solidified her career ambitions.
“My time at ES&S has been highly hands-on and impactful,” Bandari said. “Over two summers, I had the chance to contribute directly to a development team, where the features I worked on are already deployed in production and are making a real-world difference.”
For Sloan, the program achieves its transformative goals when students emerge as better professionals, more in touch with what they want to do after graduation.
Purpose and integrity
ES&S provides interns and full-time employees with a purpose that sets it apart: its mission to support democracy and commitment to personal integrity.
ES&S’ mission and purpose inspire its full-time team. Many managers and team leaders have been with ES&S for over 10 years, offering the interns unique expertise to learn from.
The company’s purpose provides motivation for the whole team, Beeson said.
Bird, who worked as a contractor for ES&S in his hometown in Pennsylvania, said his experience with ES&S’ equipment in action inspires him to think about the end user when developing projects.
Waldusky said that she’s gained an appreciation for the complexity of the democratic process and values the part she plays in it, no matter how small.
ES&S’ mission and purpose don’t just create motivation; they inspire a culture of integrity and support.
“It makes me feel good about working here,” Waldusky said. “Nobody criticizes what you have to say; they have an open-door policy, there are no dumb questions. They’re here to support you in all aspects of life.”
Bandari said the company culture brought her back for a second summer.
“What truly sets ES&S apart is its incredibly supportive and collaborative learning environment,” Bandari said. “As an intern, I have consistently felt valued. It’s clear that ES&S is deeply committed to fostering the growth and development of the interns.”
Work hard, play hard
While the ES&S interns were hard at work this summer, they also had fun along the way. Intern events and programming kept the interns busy bonding and exploring the company, while having a good laugh.
Tatreau said that she shapes the programming to the class of interns each year. This summer, she said the class’s career drive and energy to spend time with each other set the group apart, influencing the events she offered.
Interns got to participate in a variety of professional development events, including Lunch and Learns with company leaders, an INTERN-al Q&A event with former interns and an opportunity for young women in the internship program to connect with some of ES&S’ power women.
“Lunch and Learns with senior leadership were super valuable,” Baker said. “They have lots of good advice, and it’s super cool to hear all their unique perspectives on the company and the roles that they’re in.”
For Waldusky, connecting with successful women at ES&S made an impact on her.
Career development for the interns also included professional learning materials and the Gallup Clifton Strengths Assessment.
Sloan, a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach, sat down with the interns to help them understand their strengths and opportunities for growth.
“The Clifton StrengthsFinder language helps to put the responsibility back on you: to own who you are and to be okay with it and figure out how to use it,” Sloan said.
For the software development team, an understanding of team Strengths allowed the team to communicate, delegate and perform better.
“Our Strengths really complement each other,” Baumert said. “When we get together to talk about important problems, each one of us has a unique point of view.”
The interns got to work hard and play hard, visiting Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, going bowling, sharing a potluck lunch and sipping fun drinks from the Beanery’s coffee truck.
Beyond the events and the treats, the interns had the most fun just being together.
The fun and positivity make the team more productive, Beeson said.
“We get along, we have our fun, but we also get things done,” Beeson said. “Especially working with friends, it makes me more productive and makes going to work fun.”
Tatreau said that the internship is designed to provide plenty of programming so the experience can be both fun and rewarding for interns.
“We want the program to be modern and relevant with real work, but we also want it to be fun, so it feels robust and energizing,” Tatreau said.
What’s next?
Next summer, Tatreau hopes to build on the momentum of this summer. In the quest for next year’s class, many offered advice for future interns.
“I wish I could tell every student that they have the power to make decisions about their future. When they come in here, they have the power to be successful at whatever it is they choose to do,” Sloan said. “Make a decision about your internship on where you can have a voice.”
ES&S is just the place for that, according to Baumert.
Beeson and Bird emphasized the importance of the support ES&S provides.
“Having a good support system at work matters,” Beeson said. “Everyone here cares, and they want you to succeed.”
As for Tatreau, she wants incoming interns to know that the company has invested in them and is excited to welcome them next summer.
“We have worked so hard to make this fun for you, and you have a whole company backing you! We are so excited that you’re here,” Tatreau said.