The One Where They Return to the Office: 2022 Samsung Summer Internship

On June 9, 2022, students from universities across the United States began their summer internship at Samsung Electronics America. Having worked remotely since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of my fellow interns, including myself, were excited to make new connections and head into the office for the first time.

During my first day in the office at Samsung’s North American Headquarters in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, I became acquainted with the space, introduced myself to my team and started to get a feel for what the next few weeks would bring. While I believe all work experience is inherently valuable in different ways, the assignments and meetings that I took part in throughout the past eight weeks were incredibly unique.

Members of the University Relations Team were among the first few friendly faces that I recognized when stepping foot into the office building, which made the transition much less daunting than it otherwise may have been. The team juggled all of our questions and needs with open hearts and inboxes, well before we even made it into our respective offices in early June.

During my first meeting with my manager, he presented a systematic challenge that the team was facing. While I was encouraged to embrace my independence and creativity, my manager acted as an advisor, rather than just a boss, and welcomed questions along the way to provide feedback and resources. I felt empowered as I began to leverage my current abilities with new knowledge to take on this solo project, although I never felt alone. There were many moments throughout the summer where the title of an intern seemed to fall away, as I was treated like a full-time employee at Samsung and felt like a welcomed, appreciated part of the team.

From meaningful projects, to professional development workshops, a day of service and even intern social events, on behalf of my fellow intern class, I am so grateful for all of the work and planning that went into this 2022 summer internship experience.

Check out some behind-the-scenes footage of my summer at Samsung!

About the Contributor

Tatum Thompson, Lifestyle TV Product Marketing Intern, Summer 2022

As an outgoing member of Gen Z, Tatum seeks to leverage her creativity and communication skills in all that she does. Tatum is a rising junior at Montclair State University, where she majors in Business Administration and minors in Musical Theater.