Celebrating 15 Years of Internships

This evening, my alma mater, CMC is hosting a celebration in honor of the 15th year of its Silicon Valley Program (ITAB) to provide internships for the next generation of tech industry leaders. ?For everyone who has been part of this journey, today is an occasion to share much gratitude for all of the pure intentions of enabling promising students to graduate on an amazing trajectory. ?

While I regrettably won’t be present in person, I wish to share with this post today with great appreciation for everyone involved.

For the past interns who trusted me as a mentor, guide and friend, I thank you for allowing me to be part of your life.?You brought so much amazing energy to your work and to the relationships you fostered.? One of the practical pillars of professional success is to encircle yourself with high quality, win-win relationships.?Your willingness to associate with me fueled my own success in so many ways, thank you!

For my coworkers who were so supportive in enabling the continual influx of high potential interns, I thank you for identifying all the raw talent and expending the extra effort to mentor with all of your greatest knowledge and experience.?Out of your patience, trust and kindness so many interns launched their careers and so many enduring relationships blossomed.

For the team at CMC, your efforts need to be heralded.?Enabling this program to run so smoothly for so many years has required the steadfast and energetic efforts that are so easily overlooked and so frequently forgotten.?You all deserve so much praise and appreciation for getting all the details ironed out so this ecosystem could gain traction and persist. ?

Finally, for Andrea Neves and Bart Evans (RIP), your vision and persistence have given us such solid shoulders to stand on.?Many amongst us can craft impactful visions.?Few can match such visions with the fastidious execution and activation energy to ensure a complex initiative can not only start but also sustain.?Your efforts have typified the generosity of the CMC community and the others who gave so much for this program to flourish.?

Somehow the universe put us all together to grow, flourish and enjoy life together. ?For all of you involved in this program, I am forever grateful for the small glimpses of quality time we enjoyed together! For those who are now in a position to support an intern get started, trust me it is worth the effort.