How My Riverside Health Internship Strengthened My Career Readiness

Connecting to Career-Readiness Competencies

During my internship at Riverside Health, I was able to apply several of the NACE Career-Readiness Competencies in very tangible and meaningful ways. Upon reflection, three that stand out are: Technology, Teamwork, and Critical Thinking. Each of these competencies fed directly into my projects, whether recording and editing digital media, cross-departmental coordination, or building tools to tackle organizational challenges. All told, these experiences raised my level of confidence and prepared me for the various career pursuits I had in mind.

Technology was the area in which I grew the most. I handled the mock interview for The Art of Authentic Self-Promotion, managing cameras, sound, video editing, and post-production formatting. I also helped design digital media for the EDGE Leadership Program, producing visuals that were both engaging and accessible. These tasks taught me to use technology with intention-not just to complete assignments, but to enhance communication, refine clarity, and support large-scale professional development efforts. These tech skills are going to be so important in my future work in the areas of communication, policy, and leadership, where digital fluency continues to become increasingly important.

This internship also furthered my teamwork skills. I worked closely with People Operations, Process Improvement, and the Data Analytics teams, frequently managing multiple projects simultaneously. Each had different priorities and ways of working, so I learned to adapt, communicate across disciplines, and connect diverse views toward common objectives. Be it supporting the EDGE leadership rollout or refining the Team Member Performance Review Form, collaboration was always at the heart. These made me fathom what effective teamwork actually entails: listening, contributing to ideas, solving problems, and keeping flexible. For someone whose ambitions are set on public affairs, law, or government service, the ability to navigate cross-functional environments will be priceless.

The most transformative growth came in critical thinking. Riverside trusted me with real challenges, including employees' struggles to prepare for annual performance reviews. By helping design the new Team Member Performance Review Form, I learned to analyze problems, uncover root causes, and create a tool that supports both employees and supervisors in meaningful ways. I asked the right questions, interpreted feedback, and planned strategically for long-term improvement of the review experience. This work has truly reinforced my capacity to engage in and address complex issues with clarity and purpose-skills that shall be indispensable in my academic and professional path, especially in roles entailing evaluation, policy development, and decision-making. All told, the Riverside Health internship gave me far more than hands-on practice: it allowed me to apply core professional competencies to a real organizational setting. Advancing my abilities in technology, teamwork, and critical thinking have made me so much more confident and better prepared not only for graduate school but also future internships and long-term career goals. I’m committed to continuing to develop these competencies through additional training, leadership roles, and research experiences. Riverside laid the foundation, and I’m ready to take these skills into every next step of my career.