In the fall of 2021, I attended the CBA Career Center at the UNO College of Business. As a student worker in the Career Center, I had job duties that day but had the chance to talk to a few employers at the fair. My boss, Laura Sansoni, mentioned a company called Quantum Workplace that she thought may be a good culture fit for me. I approached the Quantum Workplace booth and introduced myself to one of the people there. A Qwirk (as I soon learned Quantum Workplace employees are called) introduced himself as Alex Droge and we began talking.
As Alex and I talked, I began to see what a special place Quantum Workplace must be. Alex wasn’t a recruiter — he was a sales development representative who had chosen to give of his time (and honestly, maybe his commission) to come to the UNO Career Fair and talk to business students. I took his business card and went back to my work at the fair, still thinking about Quantum Workplace.
As the spring rolled around, and I found myself in a role that wasn’t a good skills or culture match, Quantum Workplace seemed to continue to come to mind. A LinkedIn post by a connection (Liz Robertson) caught my eye. The post talked about Quantum Workplace’s Spark Internship program, a ten-week summer internship in a variety of disciplines. One role stood out above the rest — People Operations Intern. As I read the job description, I realized that this internship was a combination of many of the skills I had or wanted to develop, sitting at the intersection of communication, strategy, and people. I applied for the internship, interviewed for the role, and received the happy news that I would be joining the Summer 2022 Spark Internship Program.
Throughout the ten weeks, I completed rotations with each member of the Employee Success Team, working on varied projects from planning and preparing for our all-company retreat, shadowing phone screens, developing training materials, and designing a scavenger hunt at the Henry Doorly Zoo. At every turn, I learned and developed skills and grew in my abilities.
As the summer drew to a close, I was overjoyed to hear that I was being extended for the fall. This extended period of time, absent the summer internship programming, allowed me to work on some larger projects, including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy, lots of communications and design work, and dedicated time to learn the ins and outs of internal communications. In December, I was extended again for the spring semester and began working on new projects. During the spring, I led a book club for Qwirks on Grit by Angela Duckworth. This project was one that stretched me in new ways, challenging me to plan and prepare the logistics, content, questions, schedule, and facilitate meetings. At the end of the club, it was satisfying to look back on the work I’d done and all that I’d accomplished to make the Grit Book Club happen.
In the spring, I also doubled down on my internal communications efforts, helping to manage the internal and external components of preparing employer brand social media materials designed to engage with Qwirks, candidates, and customers.
As my internship draws to a close this week and I turn my sights towards my MBA and graduate assistantship in the fall, I look back on this experience at Quantum Workplace fondly. This internship was transformational, not only confirming my interest in communications and strategy as a career, but helping me to learn about myself and the keys to my success in the workforce — the type of culture, team, and mission that motivates me. The ways that my unique skills can fit into a team’s work. The areas of growth that I’m still working on.
I know that this internship has changed the course of my life, and for that, I’m tremendously grateful. Cyndi, Liz, Kim, Mack, and Jake — if you read this, thank you for your investment in my life. To other Qwirks reading this, I’m so glad I got to be teammates with you for the last year, and know this — YOU make work better every day.
A Profitable Read 