Finding Community Through Samsung’s Intern Day of Service

When I joined Samsung about a month ago as an Associate Product Management intern, I expected to learn about product management. What I didn’t expect was to build strong connections with my intern cohort and for one of my favorite internship experiences to happen outside the office, during Samsung’s annual Intern Day of Service.

I was onboarded alongside 15 other interns in Plano, TX. Our intern cohort is scattered across buildings and teams, some collaborating on our Networks teams, specializing in engineering and computer science, and others, like myself, working in our Mobile Experience divisions, focusing on consumer insights, marketing, analytics, or product management.

The pace at Samsung is fast and the learning curve is steep. Yet, over the past month I have also realized that this place is filled with a genuine sense of community.

That’s especially true as an intern. The program goes out of its way to widen your experience beyond the day-to-day. There’s the work itself, the projects, the meetings, the momentum of a real role, but the program Samsung has is also designed to make the internship mean something more.

On July 8th at 8:30 a.m., the Plano Samsung interns and I made our way to Kaleidoscope Park in Frisco for Samsung’s annual Intern Day of Service.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by members of the park team. They shared how the park serves as a gathering place for the local community through events, recreation and educational programming. They gave us three tasks: restock the children’s library, stain outdoor benches and chairs, and paint decorative wooden signs for an upcoming community event.

Meanwhile, our fellow Samsung interns in New Jersey spent the day volunteering at the Tenafly Nature Center, where they removed invasive, non-native plants to help native species flourish. Their work supported the Nature Center’s mission of conserving more than 400 wooded acres while promoting environmental education and stewardship. Although our intern class was split between locations, we all shared the same purpose: giving back to our community.

None of these tasks were particularly glamorous and none were difficult. But there was something quietly meaningful about being there, experiencing a part of a city I’d never seen before – I’m from Arizona, so Texas still felt new to me – and contributing something real to the people who clearly love this place. Families wandered through. Puppies darted around the dog park. It felt grounded in a way that office work rarely does. And somewhere along the way, the park became a mirror for the community we’ve been building among ourselves as interns, too.

Jamie Harper, Ansley Denison & Ariyal Jain

On the walk to the storage room where the books were kept, fellow interns Jamie Harper, Ansley Denison, Nihal Yeruva, and I opened several overflowing bins to find decades’ worth of childhood favorites staring back at us. As we worked to restock the small outdoor children’s library, we reflected on the stories that had shaped our own childhoods.

“Volunteering reminded me that even small acts of service can have a meaningful impact on the community,” said Ansley. “It was rewarding to work alongside other interns and contribute to a space that so many local families enjoy.”

Our team then picked up the stain, found the benches, and we got to work on our next task.

What struck me was how easily everyone fell into a rhythm together. Because interns are spread across different teams and functions, we don’t often get the opportunity to work side by side. So, moments like this one are rare and meaningful.

It was the small things that made the day: the random conversations, the laughter at each other’s questionable painting techniques, and the quiet focus of working toward something together. One of the biggest takeaways for me was realizing that Samsung’s sense of community extends beyond the workplace. The same collaboration and support I experience during my internship carried into our volunteer efforts, allowing us to give back together while strengthening the connections we had already started building.

As interns, we spend much of the summer focused on learning new skills and contributing to meaningful projects. Intern Day of Service reminded me that making an impact isn’t limited to the work we do inside the office. Sometimes it’s about supporting the communities around us, working alongside your peers and leaving a place just a little better than you found it.

Looking back, Intern Day of Service has been one of the highlights of my internship so far. It gave me the opportunity to connect with fellow interns and experience Samsung’s culture of collaboration and service firsthand. Whether restoring a community park in Texas or helping preserve natural habitats in New Jersey, the day was a reminder that meaningful work extends beyond the office and that making a difference starts with showing up for the communities around us.