Internships for college students are like looking through a window into their future career. While they might not be financially exciting, they are highly advantageous for building experience and important knowledge for the job.
At Envoy, an intern gets all of that knowledge plus one more very important advantage – the ability to travel. For the most part, the Envoy Internship is for the go-getter as much is it is for the avid adventure seeker.
This year’s internship just wrapped up, so we caught up with a couple interns to learn more about their experience, their summer projects and, of course, their worldwide travels. Interested in an internship with us? Check out our Internship page.
Career in aviation ‘checks all the boxes’
All through high school, Carina Bracy said that she was 100-percent focused on a life of skiing. She aspired to win Olympic gold.
That all changed after a serious injury. Instead of giving up, she refocused.
“I knew that skiing wasn’t going to pay the bills,” said Carina. “I knew I didn’t want a 9 to 5 job and that I like to travel, so I took a look at the aviation program at my school and it checked all the boxes. After my discovery flight, I said to myself ‘Oh, who cares about sports? Flying is amazing!’”
A Rocky Mountain College student, Carina plans to graduate in 2021 with a degree in aeronautics. Her ultimate goal after she graduates is to become a pilot for Envoy.
“The Envoy Internship is basically me living out my dream job already,” Carina said. “I’m seeing an exact preview of what I can expect out of life as a pilot.”
During her time as an intern at Envoy, Carina said that sitting in on meetings and talking with other Envoy pilots was the most valuable aspect for her. Her summer-long project involved researching data to help write manuals for Envoy’s line pilots, which will continue to be implemented once she becomes a First Officer.
“My biggest takeaway is the confirmation that this is what I want out of a career – that I’m on the right path,” Carina said. “Going from Envoy to American is already laid out for me. I feel like I’m already a step ahead in my career.”
Thanks to Envoy’s flight privileges, Carina was able to get a step ahead on her world travels as well. On all but one weekend during the summer, she went on a trip.
Getting to see places like Tokyo, Munich and New Orleans at the drop of the hat is one sweet perk. Even though Envoy flight privileges are on a standby basis, Carina said any logistical hiccups were well worth it.
“I love airports and the travel lifestyle,” Carina said. “I like to find a comfy corner and watch airplanes while I wait. Plus, airports are going to be my future office, so it just makes sense to get familiar with them.”
Carina also left a little advice for potential Envoy interns: “Talk to as many people as possible; you’ll learn some really cool stuff. And embrace the standby travel; it’s all worth it.”
You only Summer once
Finance Intern Justin Chemplanikal is only 20 years old, but said he gained experience far beyond his years during his internship. Working in Envoy’s accounting department, Justin got invaluable hands-on training using programs necessary for his finance career.
“At school, you just read and learn about the programs you will use,” said Justin. “As an intern, I learned a lot of detailed functions in real-life situations. I learned how they actually work on a day-to-day basis, which is practice I really needed for my career.”
However, Justin’s projects are far from just practice; they are lasting process improvements that the company will continue to utilize in the future. By helping automate a financial analysis tool and creating dashboards to help accountants visualize financial data, Justin got the opportunity to leave somewhat of a legacy at Envoy through his internship.
A local Dallasite, Justin is a finance student at the University of Texas at Dallas. But, for 11 weeks, he was a global citizen travelling over 66 thousand air miles using his Envoy travel privileges.
Every weekend, Justin travelled with fellow interns, friends and family to faraway places like Buenos Aires, Madrid and Paris. Yet, Justin advises others to take a solo trip as well.
“In such a short amount of time, you have to plan to hit all the big attractions first,” Justin offered. “Mostly, you just have to go with the flow and make the best of it. You only have one summer here, so make use of the flight privileges because it’s something you’ll remember forever.”