From Intern To Full-Time Team Member: The True Story Of My Internship Experience

Alexis Smith participated in our first virtual internship program in May 2020 when COVID-19 caused most of our teams to transition to working from home. She ended up playing a major role in the production of our newest version of our ISMs In Action book, a book that details our company values and showcases our company culture in action.

Recently promoted from intern to Content Strategist for Rock Ventures’ Creative team, Alexis is living proof that if you’re looking for a fulfilling internship program, then you should consider applying to ours! Read about Alexis’ story in her own words below.

It’s no surprise to anyone who works here that our internship program is just different. It’s not a position where you’re fetching coffee and organizing files; it’s the kind of position that leaves you feeling empowered and my experience was no different. 

At the start, a completely virtual internship position to me was anything but ordinary, and slightly intimidating. I was skeptical about entering my first day because I honestly didn’t anticipate a virtual program bringing me the kind of company culture I was looking for.  

With no expectations, I joined the Rock Ventures Creative team as a Communications Intern from the comfort of my living room. In my first week, I was tasked with reading the ISMs In Action book and getting comfortable with the material. I could feel the energy and the passion on every page for creating a work environment that everyone is proud to walk into. It’s a kind of passion that’s contagious. 

This culture was something that I wanted to be part of. Lucky for me, that following week I would begin writing the narrative of the 35th Anniversary edition of the ISMs in Action book and crafting the message about what makes our culture here so great.  

After countless conversations and interviews with individuals all over the Rock Family of Companies, I, too, fell in love with the history, the stories and the realism of the ISMs. Becoming an expert was something that happened so naturally and so quickly. Living the ISMs and connecting to each individual team member became my biggest motivation. 

Three months and 175 pages later, I had become a huge influence for developing and delivering the message of our culture, even as an intern. I wrote stories that spoke to the core of who we are, no matter what our title is or how different our positions vary from one to the next. While the new ISMs in Action book was completed at the end of my internship, this was a vision that I couldn’t let go of.  

Being someone who was skeptical of the power of this culture, especially remotely, I never could have anticipated being hired on to continue to shape the impact of the ISMs philosophies moving forward. Now, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. 

I’m proud to continue to sway all the future skeptics, like I once was, into believing this culture is deeply rooted. At first, it’s not easy to see that these philosophies really are contagious. It’s not easy to think that as an apprehensive intern you’ll grow to have the ISMs as a part of your DNA as much as your leader who has been here for more than a decade. But hey, that’s what our passion for our ISMs history and our ongoing impactful stories are all about. That’s the vision I fell in love with as an intern and will continue to drive forward to make every team member believe. 

After all, you’ll see it when you believe it, right?