Interns make an impact
As a Comcast NBCUniversal intern, Michelle Saul-Yamasaki gained valuable experience producing videos and promoting events while still in college. But the chance to give something back — by collecting donated pajamas for hospitalized kids — made her internship unforgettable.
“I got to help people and let my talents shine by simply doing what I enjoy,” Michelle says of the project she and 83 other interns organized in January 2016 for Erick’s Place, a Philadelphia nonprofit that supports chronically ill children. “Just thinking about it still makes me smile.”
A Comcast intern speaks at the co-op holiday celebration with representatives from Erick’s Place, a nonprofit that helps chronically ill children.
Community service runs deep in our company values. We believe interns can learn as much about our workplace culture through helping local organizations like Erick’s Place as they do while working with Comcast NBCUniversal teams on our business projects.
“It’s an opportunity to expand our pipeline of talented employees who share the value of giving back to their communities,” says Jasmin Senior, Comcast NBCUniversal Intern Program Manager. “These service projects also give interns a chance to develop the kinds of management, leadership, and teamwork skills that make our business stronger.”
More than 2,800 college students spent a few weeks to several months in internship experiences throughout Comcast NBCUniversal last year. For many interns, their first day of orientation included coming up with ideas for a group volunteer activity, voting on what project they’ll do together, and forming committees to manage everything from logistics and budget to publicity. “By giving interns the freedom to chart their own course, we get to see how good they are at thinking independently and turning ideas into action,” Jasmin says.
“I got to help people and let my talents shine by simply doing what I enjoy.”
Michelle Saul-Yamasaki | former Comcast NBCUniversal intern and current employee
Comcast interns celebrate at the holiday celebration with Erick’s Place.
Comcast interns celebrate at the holiday celebration with Erick’s Place.
The two-month Erick’s Place project let Michelle put her film and media arts background to use as she managed photography, videography, and social media for her group. She and other interns gift-wrapped more than 200 sets of donated pajamas, wrote cards for the recipients, and delivered everything to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Another student collected 100 more pajamas in a donation drive on the Drexel University campus.
“Working with Erick’s Place allowed me to build valuable new skills, and this experience also made me even more excited about building my career at Comcast,” says Michelle, who’s now a full-time Coordinator on our Military and Veteran Affairs Team. “My responsibilities on the project feed directly into what I’m doing in my current job.”
Other organizations benefiting from our interns’ community service work last year include Ronald McDonald House, the United Service Organizations, and Habitat for Humanity. The program has grown into an all-around winner — strengthening local nonprofits’ outreach, students’ career development, and Comcast NBCUniversal’s talent pipeline.
“We learn a lot about our interns by seeing them get creative and work together on a project that they care about, without a manager giving them directions,” says Jasmin. “And they learn what it’s like to become part of our service-oriented employee family.”
2,800+
College interns who supported business units throughout Comcast NBCUniversal and Comcast Spectacor in 2016
300+
Sets of pajamas collected by one group of interns between January and March 2016 to benefit Philadelphia nonprofit Erick’s Place, which supports chronically ill children and their families
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