A Summer to Remember: An Ode to the Remote Summer Intern

When COVID-19 started to take over the world it impacted everyone in different ways. For me, it meant I wouldn’t be able to complete my junior year studies on campus. And my internship with the MarCom team at Samsung Semiconductor in San Jose, which I was really looking forward to, was in jeopardy. Basically, it was looking to be on par for 2020 – a big disappointment. But lucky for me, Samsung held its first ever remote intern program. My story is similar to many of the interns that I’ve been working with this summer: counting my lucky stars that I received an email from HR stating my internship was still taking place. Getting back into an 8-hour workday routine is not an easy task. I turned on ancient alarms that were pre-programmed in my clock and rekindled my relationship with coffee. The biggest change, however, was the lack of commute time. To be precise, instead of a lengthy Californian drive, it was now a 20 step walk to a desk. From a single chair, I’m able to complete assignments, conduct zoom calls, and communicate with all my managers. The initial shock of being able to work in pajamas slowly faded and I got in a groove working for Samsung Semiconductor. The fact that Samsung Semiconductor was able to make a thorough plan for remote interns is just phenomenal. It was more than I even expected. We had this great intern committee that mapped out a whole schedule for online events which included a ‘Weekly Photo Challenges,’ a series of contests where each intern submitted photos or videos relating to each week’s theme. I felt the pressure not to let my MarCom team down, and luckily in Week 1, I took home the first place prize.

Working for the MarCom department, I got to sit in on numerous projects that revolve around Communications, Digital Marketing, Creative, and yes, even virtual events. My manager’s check-in with me daily and begin the tasks at hand. Using the laptop provided by Samsung Semiconductor there is not one resource unavailable. This new laptop and I had a shaky start, but I am glad to say now that we have become accustomed to one another and have so far created some fantastic projects. My first project included social media research. It was a long and time-consuming task. However, my research gave insight into social trends and allowed the development of our most successful Instagram campaign to date. My thought process behind the campaign was to create a story that is fun and different from our other advertisement posts. After numerous discussions with the marketing team brainstorming and debating, the character of Bando Chae was created.

I wanted my next project to show what it was like to be working as an intern for Samsung Semiconductor. I grabbed my handy tripod and camera to start ‘vlogging.’ I never thought that I would ever become any kind of a ‘vlogger,’ and yes in public I was heckled often, but it became an immensely fun venture and my favorite project of the summer. My experience is only one of many, so what better way to give more detail than rope in other interns?! Luckily, I had four eager interns happy to share what they’ve thought of their Samsung Semiconductor internship and that’s when my managers decided to create the ‘intern video.’ My production of videos finally made it public and the video became widely publicized across several social media platforms.

What will I take away from my summer internship with Samsung Semiconductor? The knowledge that I can be confident in participating in any marketing communications workflow. From participating in team bonding games, such as ‘Family Feud,’ to listening in on company meetings, I now know that I am capable of working effectively with a team, even remotely, and developed new skills crucial for communication. In a world where companies must always adapt and evolve this internship has proved to me that I have a toolset that will allow me to succeed as a student and further as an employee. In the end, it’s the silver lining in a situation we face as a society today that has uniquely prepared me for the real world. And I am forever grateful for the experience.