By Charishma Myneni, MBA’23
This summer was a summer of learning. I spent most of my summer in Austin working with Dell Technologies as a product management intern. After my internship, I was able to explore some parts of the U.S. and visited Nashville, Washington DC, Tampa, LA, and Madison for the first time.
The Dell University Relations team provided a holistic experience by putting together a super structured internship program and organizing tons of social events for the intern class. My project was to identify monetizable opportunities and devise a go-to-market strategy for open-source software related to the Dell storage portfolio. Though the first two weeks were all about getting up to speed with the features of the product, I spent the next few weeks surveying customers, researching the market, and gathering insights from internal stakeholders. Using all the information, I devised a monetization strategy that made a significant impact on the team and the business unit.
The best part about my internship was that I got to connect with 50+ people working across five cross-functional teams. I loved Dell’s flexible work culture with no restrictions on where and when I work. The work environment was fast-paced and challenging, but everyone respected each other’s time and work-life balance. Being part of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), attending external conferences with my team, and volunteering for local NGOs helped me build a strong network within Dell.
Looking back on my internship experience, some things that worked well for me:
- Meeting with my manager and mentor regularly (at least once a week) to keep them up to date on my project progress and seek continuous feedback
- Being part of employee resource groups and attending ERG events to understand the organization’s culture beyond work.
- Having a draft presentation deck from week 3 helped drive the conversations and receive early feedback on my project approach
- Making sure that all the stakeholders are on board with my recommendations before my final presentation.
- Using different Kelley resources such as professors, IU library, and Graduate Career Services during the internship. A huge shout out to GCS for making me reflect on my internship journey through “finishing strong” and “opening move” sessions.
I finished my internship with great feedback from my manager and all stakeholders. I am more confident now that I can make impactful decisions in a high-stakes environment. I left Austin with a lot of swag from Dell and an amazing feeling that I made a positive impact on the team and the organization.
My learning did not end at Austin. I went straight to Washington DC for the Washington Campus program. The best thing about it was regrouping with my Kelley friends after 3 months. The week was filled with many informative sessions on public policy and touring beautiful monuments and memorials in Washington. Then came the most awaited part of my summer – Florida! I loved the beaches in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The roller coaster rides in Universal and Falcon’s fury in Busch Gardens helped me relive my childhood. I can’t think of any better way to end my summer. I am super excited to be back in Bloomington for my second year and to reunite with my amazing classmates at Kelley.