Jeffrey Joseph

In the spring of 2014, I worked for SanDisk Corporation in Milpitas, California. My internship was with SanDisk's HR Communications function, working on tasks such as recruitment branding on LinkedIn as well as assisting with various on-boarding activities. The Credit Internship program provided me with my first opportunity for significant engagement with the HR issues and topics that I had been studying during my time within ILR, enriching my educational experience.

During my time at SanDisk, I felt as though I was a valued contributor to the work my team was undertaking. Whether this was staying late to assist with an MBA recruitment event or working on communications that would be seen by employees across the organization. In the various projects that I worked on at SanDisk, I was able to interact with a range of different HR functions from training and development to recruiting. I also had significant exposure to senior HR leaders from whom I could gain insights on a range of HR topics. My internship also proved to be a great opportunity for me to challenge myself and expand my skills. This came through learning about how to use tools such as Microsoft SharePoint effectively as well as how to work with HTML, areas which I had no previous exposure to.

One of the highlights of the experience was being able to work on diversity issues because I had devoted a significant portion of my time in ILR to courses focused on workplace diversity. While at SanDisk, I was able to assist with benchmarking on diversity practices and programs at SanDisk's peer companies as well as research organizations and programs that aligned with SanDisk’s strategic diversity goals. This aspect of the internship really resonated with me because I was able to gain a better understanding of the processes behind implementing various EEO laws and policies.

In addition, I enjoyed the many benefits of working at a large organization. These included benefits such as attending concerts and hockey games at SanDisk's corporate suite at SAP center in San Jose. SanDisk also allowed me to volunteer along with another Cornell intern every week at a local elementary school, as part of SanDisk's corporate philanthropy efforts.

I am grateful that I was able to participate in the Credit Internship program because it truly enriched my ILR experience and gave me significant exposure to work in the field of human resources. My internship at SanDisk helped me to gain invaluable insight into the types of opportunities and experiences I would like to pursue after graduation. I would highly recommend the program as a complement to the ILR experience.

- Jeffrey Joseph, BSILR'15