National Intern Day

2020 has been a year of unprecedented obstacles, fast-paced change and several opportunities for learning, and our Rocket Companies^®’ interns embraced it all. As an organization, it’s easy to say we value our interns, but it’s another thing to actually celebrate them. Lucky for us, we’re a team dedicated to our interns’ experience while they’re here with us, whether it’s for a 1-week externship or a 3-month internship.

Every year, our team surprises interns on National Intern Day with a “fire-drill” celebration. In years past, we’ve bought smoothies and breakfast pastries for all of the interns and we’ve brought in local vendors to throw a surprise pop-up party, and they’ve always been a hit. This year, being virtual, we had to get creative with how we could ensure they felt appreciated, despite being spread across the United States and Canada. Rather than guessing and providing an experience that only some of the interns would enjoy, our team wanted to make sure we asked the experts themselves: the interns! We sent out a survey and interns reported that they wanted more opportunities to get to know other interns in the program, more networking opportunities with senior leadership and free Rock Internship Program swag.

This summer, interns logged onto their computers in the morning and received an email from the Intern Experience team that took them to a website that was a one-stop-shop for all things National Intern Day! The website had a page for the interns to play Intern BINGO, requiring them to have completed certain milestones that would enhance their intern experience (i.e. shadow a team member, send a thank you email, read your ISMs book, etc.). The interns also had the opportunity to order intern-exclusive swag, including a branded Rock Internship Program T-shirt and mask, as they embark on their future journeys. Lastly, the website spotlighted 15 interns and project groups from across the Rocket Companies^® who are not only high achieving in the workplace but are also doing some pretty cool things outside of here, such as participating in the Junior Olympics or dedicating more than 500 hours to volunteering in 1 year!

While National Intern Day looked a little different this year and a little more relaxed than years past, the day was dedicated to celebrating our temporary team members and making them feel appreciated.